Stolen
by Kohala
Summary: Piper had been missing for 2 years. Prue and Phoebe stared at the small, cardboard box. Prue took a deep breath and removed the lid from the box. Phoebe screamed and fell to her knees. Lying on top of a white tissue was... Completed: June 4, 09.
1. Chapter 1

Rather than having my readers wait for unknown amounts of time for updates, I've decided to write this story in full before posting it on . I will add a chapter to the story every **Thursday** for you to read. Hopefully that will keep everyone happy.

Secondly, I want to apologize if anyone finds this story offensive. I did not mean to offend anyone of any religion I just thought this would make an interesting story. So, please don't take offense because I have nothing against any religions or those who practice them. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Charmed nor am I connected with anything to do with Charmed. I wrote this purely for fun.

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Marvin Healey walked with determination from doorstep to doorstep on Prescott Street. He held a thick pile of fliers against his breast to keep them from escaping with the strong autumn wind that had picked up that morning. He climbed the front steps of Halliwell manor and clutched the fliers with his left hand so that he could slip a single flier out of the pile with his right. A few of his fliers flew out of his arms and across the Halliwell's front lawn. He quickly ran to catch what he could before the wind moved them further.

Inside the manor, Piper was fervently cleaning every surface she could reach with a vacuum or a cloth. She had just moved into the conservatory with the vacuum as Marvin raced by the window to grab one of his fliers. Piper pulled the vacuum closer to where she was standing, knocking over one of the small tables holding a glass vase full of flowers. Without thinking, Piper threw out her free hand causing the table and the vase to freeze in midair. Piper cursed under her breath and ran to grab the displaced items.

Marvin stood in shock as he watched Piper pluck a flower that was floating in the air and replace it in the vase on the table. He quickly stepped out of view to avoid being seen and raced back to his own home across the street. He couldn't believe he had lived across the street from a servant of Satan for over twenty years.

He pushed through his front door and slammed it behind himself. He placed his fliers, advertising a function coming up at his church, on the table next to the door and paced around his front room, trying to come up with a plan to save his neighbor from an afterlife of eternal misery and despair. Not knowing who to turn to, he turned his computer on and logged on to his favorite search engine.

---

Piper crammed the vacuum cleaner back into the closet where the Halliwell sisters kept most of their cleaning products. She closed the closet door just as Leo orbed into the room in a cloud of bright, white lights.

"Those shoes had better be clean," Piper warned, causing Leo to stop in place and look down at his feet.

"Are we expecting company?" Leo asked as he slipped his shoes off of his feet and set them by the front door. Piper stared at him in disbelief.

"Tonight is Daryl's party!" Piper exclaimed. "You said you were going to be there."

Leo looked down at the floor before sheepishly looking Piper in the eye and shrugging his shoulders. Piper sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm really sorry, Piper," Leo said softly as he took her hands into his. "They have me working late tonight." Piper took a few deep breaths before nodding. There was no point in trying to argue. It was hard enough getting the Elders to allow her to be engaged to Leo and she didn't want to give them any reason to take him away. She knew right from the beginning of their relationship that she would have to make compromises.

"I thought you were having the party for Daryl at P3," said Leo. "Why are you cleaning the manor?"

"In case we end up coming back here," Piper replied matter-of-factly.

"Of course," said Leo with a smile. Piper smacked his arm playfully and made her way into the kitchen.

Prue and Phoebe walked into the manor through the kitchen door with three large, paper bags full of groceries. They set their bags on the kitchen cupboard and began listing off everything Piper had sent them to pick up for the party. Piper watched as they packed everything into the refrigerator and cupboards.

"Piper, I think you might be going a little overboard," Leo warned as he saw how much effort Piper was putting into her party planning. Piper completely ignored him and got to work making appetizers for Daryl's party.

Leo walked behind Piper and wrapped his arms around her waist. Piper smiled and continued chopping vegetables for the party. Leo squeezed her tighter and gently kissed her neck. Piper sighed and tilted her head to the side. She set the knife she was using on the counter and turned to look Leo in the eye. Her sisters smiled and quietly left the room to give them some privacy.

"Leo, I need to get the veggie tray done," said Piper. She placed her hands on the back of Leo's neck and tenderly kissed the side of his mouth. Leo turned into her kiss and ran his hand through her hair.

"The vegetables can wait," he said with a smile.

---

Marvin peered through the Venetian blinds of his front room. He'd been keeping an eye on Halliwell manor for anything supernatural or demonic over the past few hours. Through the use of the internet, he'd stumbled upon a group in the area that had experience working with people that had been tempted by evil. They had agreed to meet with Marvin some time during the week to stage an intervention if Marvin was able to convince Piper to join them.

He watched as Piper walked out of the manor and headed for her Jeep, which she had parked on the side of the street. Marvin rushed for the door and grabbed his car keys. Before Piper had reached her Jeep, Marvin grabbed a box from the trunk of his car and dropped it onto the pavement. Its contents spilled all over the pavement and caught Piper's attention. Unable to resist helping others, Piper ran to help Marvin and immediately began placing things back in the box they'd fallen from. Marvin couldn't help smile slyly while she wasn't looking.

"Thank you so much for your help," said Marvin as Piper placed the last stray item back into the box. "There aren't many people willing to help an old man anymore." He smiled sweetly at her as he lifted the box into his arms.

"I was happy to help," said Piper with a smile.

"I wish there was someway I could thank you better," said Marvin. "You really must let me give you a little something. I've just baked a batch of cookies. Come in and I'll make you something to drink."

"That's really sweet," said Piper. "But I was just on my way to work. Thank you so much for the offer though." She smiled again and began walking back to her car.

Marvin turned and headed back toward his house. Once inside, he set the box down and clenched his teeth angrily. He was sure his plan would have worked.

---

Piper walked behind the bar at P3 to grab drinks for her table. She opened a bottle of Perrier for herself and placed it on a tray before opening a beer for Daryl and mixing a few girly drinks for her sisters and Sheila, Daryl's wife.

Marvin was sitting at the bar with a five dollar bill in his hand and a hat worn low enough to conceal his face. He'd been listening in on the Halliwell's conversations for most of the night and had been waiting for them to order a round of drinks following their appetizers.

As soon as Piper turned to grab a bottle of rum, he reached over the bottle of Perrier, holding up his money for the bartender and inconspicuously spilled a small vile of clear liquid into the green, glass bottle.

Completely oblivious to what had just happened, or even to Marvin's presence in her club, Piper lifted the tray of drinks off of the bar and carried it over to her table. Prue and Phoebe were deep in conversation with Daryl, congratulating him on his recent promotion due to his many successes with his cases. Piper set the tray on the table and began passing the drinks around the table.

"It's time for a toast!" said Phoebe excitedly as Piper handed her the drink she had ordered. Everyone lifted their glasses and toasted to Daryl's success. Piper took a large swig of her drink and grimaced slightly at the taste. She wasn't sure if it was because of something she ate, but her drink tasted different than what she was expecting.

Marvin watched from the bar. Piper took the occasional sip of her drink, but she had obviously noticed something wrong. Finally she pushed it aside and looked up at the bar to see if anyone else was ordering Perrier. She had to squint to see anything at the bar as the liquid in her drink took effect.

Piper struggled to focus in on the conversation around her. She stared at Darryl and his wife, Sheila, trying to force her eyes to stay open. She was suddenly exhausted.

"I told you that you were working too hard today," Phoebe whispered as she nudged Piper with her elbow. Piper flinched and looked over a Phoebe.

"Huh?" she mumbled.

"You look exhausted," Phoebe replied. "How early did you get up this morning?"

"I'm fine," Piper yawned, trying to look like she was completely focused on the party.

She sat back against the back of the sofa and swallowed hard as a knot began to form in her stomach. A wave of dizziness caught her off guard and she grabbed onto Phoebe's arm to keep herself from falling over.

Phoebe looked over at Piper with a worried expression. Piper's face had become ashen and she was breathing heavily. Prue set her drink on the coffee table and leaned over Phoebe to look at Piper.

"Are you ok?" Phoebe asked as she brushed a few stray pieces of hair behind Piper's ear. She grabbed Piper's drink and held it out for Piper. Piper shook her head and pushed it away.

"I don't want anymore. It tastes kind of funny," Piper groaned. "I'm fine. It's just a cramp." Prue looked at Piper suspiciously. Piper had always been a terrible liar.

"Tastes funny?" Daryl asked. He took Piper's bottle of Perrier and smelled its contents. "Funny, how?"

"It's kind of salty," replied Piper. She let go of Phoebe's arms as the dizziness subsided. "We must have bought a bad batch. I'll go tell Rex not to serve anymore."

She grabbed her stomach suddenly and covered her mouth with her free hand. Phoebe gently ran her hand against Piper's back and watched her sister sympathetically.

"Are you going to be sick?" Phoebe asked softly. Piper nodded and quickly stood up. Phoebe followed Piper and took her to the staff washroom where they would get some privacy. Prue took Piper's drink from Daryl and looked at the bottom to see if anything was in her drink.

"Do you think someone slipped something in here?" Prue asked. She looked over at Daryl with concern.

"To me, it sounds like it could possibly be GHB, which is a common date rape drug that has a bit of a salty taste," replied Daryl, "Go check on Piper. I'll hang onto her drink and we'll take it to the hospital with us." Prue nodded and walked quickly to the staff bathroom to check on Piper.

Phoebe had Piper propped up against the wall next to the toilet and was gently pressing a wet paper towel against Piper's forehead and neck. Piper was shaking uncontrollably and breathing in shallow, ragged breaths. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she fought the urge to vomit again. Losing the battle, she quickly pulled herself forward and wretched into the porcelain bowl. Phoebe gently rubbed her back until she was finished before helping Piper back against the wall.

Piper breathed rapidly in sharp gasps and looked up at Prue. Her eyelids were beginning to droop as she began to lose consciousness. Prue knelt beside Phoebe and ran her thumb over Piper's cheek to wipe away the fresh tears that had spilled over the rim of Piper's eye.

"Piper, we need to get you to a hospital," Prue explained using her protective older sister tone. "Are you going to be able to walk?" Piper thought for a moment before nodding her head and attempting to stand up. She collapsed against Prue and dropped to her knees. Prue quickly knelt beside her and held her up. She instructed Phoebe to get Daryl as she helped Piper sit back against the wall.

Within seconds, Daryl burst into the staff bathroom with Sheila in tow. He gently lifted Piper into his arms and carried her out to her SUV in the staff parking lot. Prue grabbed her keys and started the ignition as Sheila got Piper strapped in and passed her a bowl to vomit in. Phoebe jumped into the seat next to Piper and Sheila and shut the door just as Prue threw the SUV into drive. Daryl was left to drive his own car to the hospital.

As they drove quickly through the streets of San Francisco to the nearest hospital, Piper collapsed against Phoebe. Phoebe maneuvered Piper so that her head was resting against her lap. She could feel Piper's body trembling and watched as Piper fought her hardest to stay awake.

Back at the club, Marvin sighed in defeat, not considering the fact the Piper's sisters would go to the washroom with her. He had planned to have her go to the staff washroom alone and pass out, giving him the opportunity to grab her and leave out the back door. Unfortunately, his plans had been foiled and he had wasted his night in an overly crowded nightclub for nothing.

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I hope you enjoyed chapter one!!! Check back next Thursday for the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry, I couldn't wait a whole week to post the next chapter. I want my readers to really see where this story is going, so you're getting a bonus chapter this week. Enjoy!!

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Prue, Phoebe and Leo sat on Piper's hospital bed and listened to Piper rant angrily from her washroom. She stormed through the door and threw her hospital gown on one of the chairs beside the bed.

"In my own club!" she spat for the fourth time that morning.

"Piper, you can't control your cliental. Your club is as safe as its going to get," said Phoebe. "These things happen. All we can do is to be as careful as possible."

"I never let my drink out of my sight," said Piper as she began throwing her things into her suitcase. "I brought all of our drinks straight from the bar. There was no possible way someone could have slipped something into it."

"I disagree," said Prue, avoiding eye contact with Piper. Piper rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She had been considering all morning how her drink could have been drugged.

"It had to have been demonic," Piper muttered.

Phoebe raised one eyebrow and cocked her head at her sister. "Last time I checked, demons don't normally use drugs concocted in their kitchen sink." Piper grimaced. The thought of ingesting something that had been mixed in a dirty sink didn't sit well with her.

"Let's just go home," Piper sighed as she lifted her suitcase off of the floor. Leo jumped to his feet and took the suitcase from Piper. They signed Piper out at the nurses' station and headed to the elevator.

---

Marvin stood at his living room window and peered through the Venetian blind at the Halliwell manor. The four men he had been communicating with via email were now sitting in his living room drinking coffee and waiting for some updates from Marvin.

"I'm running out of ideas," Marvin sighed. "There's no other way than to take her by force from her home."

"That sounds like a plan to me," said one of the men. "It's dark enough that you could do it without being seen. What's preventing this action?"

"She's not alone," replied Marvin. "The younger sister is home as well."

"Let me try," said the high priest as he rose from his chair. He towered over Marvin, making him seem important and strong. "I trust you still have some of your concoction from your previous encounter." Marvin nodded silently and rushed to his kitchen to retrieve the vile of liquid he had created.

The high priest bowed in thanks and excused himself. Marvin watched as he crossed the street and disappeared around the back of the Halliwell manor. The high priest peered through the corner of the kitchen window to find Piper washing dishes. She let the water out of the sink and dried her hands before pouring herself a mug of tea.

"Piper, can you come here for a second?" Phoebe shouted from the second level of the house. "I need your opinion on a few outfits for my date tomorrow."

Piper set her mug on the kitchen counter and ran upstairs to help Phoebe. The high priest tried the door to the kitchen and, finding it unlocked, let himself in. He quickly poured the contents of the vile into Piper's tea and slipped back outside into the shadows.

Moments later, Piper roamed back into the kitchen and lifted her mug off of the counter. As she cleaned the kitchen and put things back in their proper places, she slowly sipped her tea – taking no notice of the different taste or how tired she was beginning to feel.

Finishing the last of her tea, she placed the mug in the now empty dishwasher and looked over at the clock on the wall. She began to walk toward the door to the dining room, but stopped suddenly to steady herself using the table as a support. She could feel every muscle in her body begin to weaken as she dropped to her hands and knees. Her arms shook under her weight and before she could call for help, she dropped into a heap on the floor.

The high priest silently opened the back door and stepped inside. Piper tried to catch a glimpse of who was walking toward her, but just as she looked at his shoes her eyes slid shut and refused to open. The high priest lifted Piper off of the floor and quickly made his way outside.

Only a few minutes later, Phoebe walked into the kitchen and stopped short when she didn't see Piper. Frowning, she called for Piper and began searching the house. She didn't notice until later that the back door had been left open.

---

Piper awoke in a bright room with a terrible headache. It took her a few minutes to reclaim her senses. She quickly realized that she was standing upright with her arms pulled out and strapped to a horizontal board. He hands were taped against the board, preventing her from using her powers.

"I'm so glad you've finally decided to join us Miss Halliwell," a deep voice broke the silence and caught Piper's attention. She struggled to focus on the five figures standing before her.

"What am I doing here?" Piper croaked. Her voice was raspy from her drug-induced sleep.

"You're here to get better," replied Marvin. "You've strayed from your path and we are here to help you find your way back."

Piper frowned and focused on Marvin until her vision cleared.

"Mr. Healey? I… I don't understand," Piper struggled to make sense of what was happening. She looked at each man in front of her. They were all wearing white robes and standing with their hands at their sides. She suddenly realized that she was also wearing a white robe and couldn't remember ever changing from her own clothes.

"You've been tempted by Satan," Marvin explained. "He has lured you away from the Lord with his promises of supernatural powers."

"You've got the wrong idea," Piper replied calmly. "I've been going to church my entire life. I don't associate with the devil. I'm dating a fricken angel for Heaven sake!"

"Silence!" shouted the high priest as he took an intimidating step toward Piper making her cringe slightly. Marvin passed him a glass containing an unnaturally coloured liquid. The high priest held to glass up and walked closer to Piper. "You will drink the blood of the Lord and prove your loyalty to the Lord. Only then will you be free of the shackles of Satan."

Not wanting to upset the men, Piper agreed to drink the liquid without asking any further questions. The high priest lifted the cup to Piper's lips and tipped the liquid into her mouth. Piper grimaced at the taste and turned her head to the side. The high priest grabbed Piper's face forcefully and continued to pour the liquid down her throat. Piper closed her eyes and choked back the remaining liquid until the glass was empty. She had been expecting something as simple as Holy water or wine, but she had quickly realized her mistake.

The high priest stepped back and grinned evilly. "Try using your powers now, witch!" he chuckled. Piper frowned and looked around the room at each of the men. Marvin glanced over at the high priest with a look of slight confusion.

"Should we continue with the ceremony?" asked one of the other men as he approached the high priest. The high priest lifted his hand. A large ball of blue electricity began to form within his palm. With an evil grin, the high priest turned and threw the ball at the man. The man screamed and disappeared from sight, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes and the smell of burnt flesh behind.

Marvin stepped back with a terrified expression on his face. He was too shocked to say anything or run for the stairs.

The high priest threw an energy ball at one more of the men before turning toward Marvin. The high priest laughed as Marvin backed away and started running for the stairs. He grabbed a pitchfork that was hanging on the wall with the rest of Marvin's garden tools and threw it with full force in Marvin's direction. The pitchfork sliced through Marvin's body, killing him instantly.

Piper's mouth was open, but no sound escaped. The two men that had once appeared as church officials suddenly changed shape, taking the appearance of two demons she had never seen before.

"This is where the fun begins," chuckled one of the shape-shifters. He grabbed Piper's neck tightly and blinked out of the room with her and the other shape-shifter.

---

Here is where I leave you. Check back next Thursday for the next chapter!!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, you came back to read chapter three!! I hope you enjoy this chapter even more than the last two.

Thank you very much to anetteo for the review and to all of those who have read up to this chapter!!

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Prue placed the phone in its cradle and crossed her arms as she walked into the dining room of the manor. Phoebe drew a line on the pad of paper in front of her, eliminating another possible location for Piper.

"This is so unlike her," Phoebe sighed. "I don't understand where she would have gone."

Prue sat down and dropped her head into her hands, defeated. Phoebe scanned the list one more time, trying to think of any places they didn't call.

The silence in the dining room was suddenly interrupted by the glow of bright, white lights. Leo appeared within the glow and looked at both sisters.

"What happened?" he asked as he looked at the expression on both of the faces before him.

"Piper's disappeared," replied Phoebe. "We haven't been able to contact her anywhere. We're starting to get a little worried."

"You should have called me," said Leo with a grin. "I can find her." He closed his eyes and sorted through the voices in his head for Piper's. Phoebe and Prue watched Leo expectantly. They had both completely forgot about Leo's ability to track people wherever they may be.

Leo frowned suddenly and opened his eyes. "I can't sense Piper anywhere," he said, trying to hide the worry in his own voice. "How long has she been missing?"

"Six hours," replied Prue. "What does this mean? If you can't sense her… I don't understand."

"I'm going to have to talk to the Elders," replied Leo. "This doesn't make any sense."

He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared in the room, leaving an unsettling silence behind. Phoebe looked over at Prue with and expression of desperation and tears threatening to spill from the corners of her eyes.

"If Leo can't sense her, does that mean she's…" Phoebe whimpered.

"No!" Prue snapped, interrupting Phoebe before she could finish her sentence. "I would know. You would know! She's definitely somewhere."

"But where?" Phoebe cried. The tears spilled over her cheeks and hit the surface of the table. Prue stood up and approached her sister. Phoebe jumped up from her seat and threw her arms around Prue. Prue returned the embrace and ran her hand through Phoebe's hair in an attempt to comfort her.

"We'll find her," said Prue with a tone of determination. However, she was having a hard time convincing herself.

---

Daryl sat on the sofa between Prue and Phoebe. It had been three days since Piper had gone missing and there had been no news of where she had gone. Leo and the Elders were on constant surveillance within the supernatural realms. Everyone from the sprites to the ogres had been questioned and asked to keep a look out for Piper. The news was also to be kept quiet. It was crucial that information about the separation of the Charmed Ones was to be kept a secret from the Underworld. Without Piper, the Charmed Ones as well as good magic was in jeopardy.

"This is a good one," said Daryl as he held up a recent photo of Piper. He had helped the girls to file a missing persons report and was helping them find a photo of Piper to post on websites and posters. It was a long-shot, but Daryl wanted to help in any way he could.

Phoebe stared at the photo of Piper. She was dressed in blue jeans and a black sleeveless top and leaning against the banister of the staircase. Prue had taken the photo before Piper had realized she was holding her camera. Prue had been practicing taking candid photos with her newest digital camera. It was a hobby Prue had practiced as a teen, but hadn't seriously picked up again. The camera had been a gift from her sisters and she hadn't played with it since the day the picture of Piper had been taken.

The picture became blurry and Phoebe realized she had begun to cry again. She excused herself and walked upstairs to her room.

"I think that's a good choice," said Prue, putting on her strong, big sister face for Daryl. She hated showing any sign of weakness. So far, she had been able to stay strong for Phoebe without breaking down where she could be seen. Behind closed doors was another story.

"These posters aren't going to tip off any demons about Piper's disappearance, are they?" Daryl asked suddenly. Prue shook her head.

"No," she sighed. "We're known more in the demonic world by our powers, not by our names or faces."

Daryl nodded and stood up with the picture in hand. "I'll take this to the station right now and have my guys print the Missing posters as soon as they can." Prue nodded and stood up, walking Daryl to the front door of the manor. "Don't worry, Prue. We will find her."

They were interrupted by an announcement on Daryl's radio. He let the person on the other end of the radio know that he would check out the situation and frowned.

"1326 Prescott street? Isn't that your neighbour?" Daryl asked.

"That's Marvin Healey's house," Prue replied as she opened the door. "He lives across the street. Why?"

"They've found a body," replied Daryl. "I've got to go. I'll let you know if I hear anything about Piper." Prue smiled and watched as Daryl made his way toward Marvin's house. There were already a few squad cars in front of the house.

"Daryl, wait!" Prue shouted suddenly. She slipped a pair of flip flops onto her feet and ran after him. "I'm coming with you."

Daryl tried to think of a way to keep Prue from coming to the crime scene, but he knew better than to argue with her. Once Prue's mind was set it was impossible to try to change it.

They entered the house through the open front door. The house was filled with forensic investigators and police officers that Daryl worked with. They'd all seen Prue at crime scenes before, so no one questioned her presence.

"Hey, Morris," shouted one of the officers. "That was quick. This one is a doozey. Your little friend might not want to see the mess in there." He motioned toward the basement door.

"I'm sure I've seen worse," said Prue matter-of-factly. She walked ahead of Daryl toward the basement. She wasn't expecting to see Marvin Healey's body lying on the staircase in front of her with a pitchfork protruding from his back. She studied the body as she stepped around him and made her way further into the basement. Daryl and the other officer followed close behind.

"There were no fingerprints on the weapon except for his," the officer explained. "And I can't imagine how he could have done that to himself."

Prue stopped suddenly and stared at the large wooden cross against the far wall. There was rope and remnants of duct tape hanging on the horizontal posts as well as in heaps on the floor.

"Can you explain that?" Daryl asked, pointing to the crucifix.

"Just that it's been in use recently," replied the officer. "Forensics found a few strands of hair, most likely female. They also found a pile of clothes in the corner. Prue stared at the pile of clothes for a moment before walking closer to check them out.

"Don't touch those, miss," said the officer. "They can be used as evidence."

Prue stared at the familiar suede jacket and shoes placed in a neatly folded pile on a stool in the corner of the room. Her hand slipped over her mouth and she took a step back.

"Was this the only body found?" Prue asked suddenly as she spun around to face both Daryl and the other officer. He nodded and stared at Prue questioningly.

"Those are Piper's clothes," said Prue. She stared at Daryl, who stood speechless.

"Are you sure?" Daryl asked. He began scanning the rest of the room for any sign that Piper had indeed been there.

"I'm positive," replied Prue. "I bought Piper that jacket for her birthday." Daryl could see the rage building within Prue. He wished he could tell her something reassuring, but from the scene in front of him it wasn't looking good. He'd seen cult murders before and they rarely had happy endings. He didn't even want to point out the piles of ashes to Piper.

"There's nothing we can do here," he said softly as he gently led Prue back toward the staircase. "Let's get you home."

---

Two weeks had passed with no news on Piper's disappearance. Leo had checked out the murder scene and talked with the Elders. They knew for sure that Piper hadn't been killed, but had no idea where she was or what condition she was in. The fact that Piper had been taken by a mortal and mysteriously disappeared stumped them all.

Phoebe had Cole searching the Underworld relentlessly for anything that might tell them what had happened to Piper. The girls couldn't go anywhere without seeing Piper's face posted around town. Daryl had even gotten the Missing posters onto milk cartons.

The girls had tried everything from Calling a Lost Witch spells to the spirit board. Nothing gave them any indication of where Piper was.

Phoebe rarely left the house, leaving Prue in charge of P3 as well as her own job at Buckland's Auction House. Normally, Prue would have been irate with Phoebe, but she was so occupied with work and searching for Piper that she rarely paid much attention to Phoebe.

A few thousand kilometers away, Piper sat silently in a darkened corner of a cave listening closely to every noise around her. The two demons constantly tormented her, letting her think that she could escape before recapturing her. With her powers bound and no real hope of escaping, Piper was beginning to doubt every getting to go home again.

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Check back next Thursday for more!!


	4. Chapter 4

Well, it's almost Thursday (I couldn't wait until tomorrow to post the next chapter).

This chapter was originally only two pages long, but in waiting for Thursday I had a build up of ideas to add to it. So, now you have a whole seven pages to tide you over until next Thursday. Happy reading!!

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Piper sat at the edge of the small pool of water in the corner of the cave where the demons were keeping her hostage. Fresh water constantly trickled into the pool through a crack in one of the stones and escaped through a hole in the rock floor. She slowly moved her feet in circles within the water, watching the ripples they caused in the water every time she moved. She sighed and looked over at the demons as they devoured their latest meal, an unfortunate beast that had the misfortune of running into the demons during their latest hunt. Piper could expect to have the remnants of their kill thrown at her when they were finished. She was overly grateful that they preferred to eat their food cooked over an open flame. If they'd given her raw meat, she would have surely starved to death long ago.

The demons threw what was left of the meat on the floor of the cave next to Piper and blinked out of sight on their hunt for an innocent to torment. Piper didn't bother trying to escape. She had tried so many times before with no success. The shape-shifting demons were always a step ahead of her.

As Piper pulled her feet from the water and reached for one of the meaty bones on the floor, a warm, white light temporarily lit up the cave. Piper shielded her eyes from the light. She'd become so used to the darkness of the cave that light seemed to burn the backs of her eyes. The light dissipated, giving Piper the opportunity to focus on the figure in front of her.

"Leo?" she asked softly, unsure of whether to approach him or not.

"Piper?" he exclaimed, unable to hold back his excitement. "I can't believe I finally found you!" He ran toward her and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Piper broke down and returned the embrace with all the strength remaining in her body.

"I thought I was going to be stuck her forever," Piper sobbed. "What took you so long? Why couldn't you find me?"

"Those demons must have magically cloaked this place," Leo replied as he ran his fingers over Piper's hair. "Come on, let's get you home." Piper nodded and closed her eyes as Leo orbed her back to the manor.

Leo and Piper orbed into the kitchen in a blur of glittering, white lights. Piper grabbed hold of the kitchen cupboard to steady herself.

"I think it's going to take me awhile to get used to orbing again," Piper groaned as she clutched her stomach. "That felt really weird."

"Are you going to be ok?" Leo asked as he placed a comforting hand on Piper's back. Piper nodded and waited for the dizzy feeling to subside. The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard through the house, making their way toward the parlor.

"Oh my god, Piper!" Phoebe gasped. She ran toward Piper and wrapped her arms tightly around her, nearly knocking Piper to the ground. "I can't believe you're here! I've missed you so much!"

Prue joined in the embrace without saying a word, trying to remain strong and not show her emotions in front of Leo and her sisters.

"Are you ok?" Phoebe sobbed. "Where were you? What did they do to you? Are you hurt?"

"Phoebe, I'm fine," Piper grunted, finding it hard to breathe within Phoebe's embrace. "You're squashing me!"

"I'm sorry," Phoebe replied, not releasing her grasp at all. Piper rolled her eyes and squeezed her sisters tighter.

---

Piper stepped out of the bathroom in her robe after a long, hot shower. She smiled as she walked toward her bedroom, feeling completely refreshed for the first time in a long time. She changed into a pair of jeans and a sleeveless blue top before brushing her hair, putting her makeup on, and heading downstairs to prepare breakfast for Leo and her sisters.

Prue was the first to wander into the kitchen and sit at the table with a mug of freshly brewed coffee.

"How did you sleep?" Prue asked, turning to watch Piper as she flipped the pancakes she had made.

"Really good," replied Piper. "It's so nice to finally sleep in my own bed again." Prue smiled and took a sip of her coffee. She turned suddenly as Phoebe wandered sleepily into the kitchen.

"I thought I smelled Piper's cooking," said Phoebe as she yawned and sat at the table across from Prue. "I missed that smell."

Piper smiled and began dishing food onto plates for her sisters. "I missed cooking. I'm just glad I haven't lost my touch."

"Me too!" said Phoebe with a large smile as she took the plate Piper was passing her.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Piper gasped. She opened the cupboard above the stove and reached for the syrup. As she leaned closer in order to reach the syrup she touched the hot frying pan with her stomach. She flinched and quickly pulled away from the stove. She clutched the patch of skin she had burned and clenched her teeth tightly.

"Oh, honey. Are you ok?" asked Phoebe sympathetically as she ran to Piper's side. "Let me see." Piper reluctantly pulled her hand away from her burn to show Phoebe. Phoebe cringed and cupped her hand over her mouth. Prue shot up from her seat and ran to help Piper. As soon as she saw Piper's burn she called out for Leo.

Leo orbed into the kitchen without making them wait. "What happened?" he asked as he looked at each of the sisters.

"You need to heal Piper," replied Prue. Leo stepped closer to Piper and pulled her hands away from her stomach.

"What happened?" asked Leo.

"Questions later," Piper groaned. "Heal now, please." She grabbed Leo by the wrist and pulled him closer. Leo held his hand over Piper's burn and looked at Piper's face. She looked up at him with an expression of pain in her eyes. She could feel the warmth growing from Leo's hand as he began healing her wound. Piper frowned as Leo's hand went from warm to burning. She was suddenly shocked by a high volt of energy. She shot back against the kitchen cupboard and fell to the floor.

Leo and her sisters began laughing hysterically. As Piper looked up at them with disbelief, the kitchen began melting out of sight and Leo and her sisters took on the appearance of the two shape-shifters. They continued to laugh as she grasped at her stomach through the hole in her robe.

She quickly realized that she had never left the cave. The shape-shifters had somehow created the illusion of the manor to trick her into thinking she'd finally escaped.

"You like that, witch?" one of the demons asked. "Just a little power we stole from another demon a while back. Pretty cool, huh?"

Piper stood up and stared angrily at the two demons. She turned quickly and walked toward the pool of water she'd been sitting at earlier. The two demons continued to laugh as they blinked out of sight.

A small tear trickled down her cheek as she tore a piece of material from the bottom of her robe and dipped it into the cool water. She sat at the side of the pool and gently pressed the piece of material against the electrical burn caused by the demon's energy ball.

----

Prue and Phoebe were sitting silently at the kitchen table drinking their morning coffee and eating breakfast. Phoebe had her nose in the newspaper and Prue was staring absently at the window above the kitchen sink. She plunked her coffee cup on the table suddenly, making Phoebe jump and drop the newspaper.

"Oh, my god," Prue gasped, her eyes open wide. She stood up suddenly and nearly ran out of the kitchen. Phoebe jumped to her feet and followed close behind her sister.

"Prue, what happened?" Phoebe asked. She followed Prue all the way up to the attic and watched as Prue tore an old trunk open and strategically placed white candles in a circle in front of the Book of Shadows.

"I can't believe I didn't think of this before," said Prue.

"Thought of what?" Phoebe asked impatiently. She stood next to the Book of Shadows and watched as Prue flipped through the pages with a clear purpose.

"We haven't talked to the one person that actually knows what happened to Piper," said Prue.

"And that person is…" Phoebe questioned. Prue stopped at a page in the Book of Shadows and smiled satisfactorily as she pointed to the spell she had been searching for.

"Marvin Healey," Prue replied.

"Oh!" Phoebe gasped. She read through the spell silently, feeling her entire body begin to shake with anticipation. They would finally have some new information that could lead them to Piper.

She and Prue began chanting the séance spell. They continued repeating the words until a light wind blew through the attic. Phoebe stopped chanting before Prue did. She watched as a cloud of mist began forming within the circle of candles. The figure of Marvin Healey slowly began to materialize within the mist until his features could clearly be seen.

Prue stared at Marvin, not knowing whether to be irate or happy to see him. She chose to remain neutral until she had some information.

"What am I doing here?" Marvin asked, clearly shaken up by his sudden appearance in a strange room.

"We brought you here to ask you a few questions," replied Prue. "We were hoping you could tell us what you know about our sister."

Marvin studied the faces of Prue and Phoebe before bowing his head sadly.

"I'm terribly sorry," Marvin sighed. "I didn't mean to cause the trouble that I did. I only wanted to save your sister. I understand now how wrong I was."

"What are you talking about?" Prue asked. Phoebe could tell Prue was getting angry. She was horrible at hiding her anger.

"I saw your sister use her powers," replied Marvin. "I assumed she was involved in something Satanic. I had no idea there were witches, let alone good witches. I know now that you and your sisters are pure of heart. Unfortunately, that doesn't change what I did."

"You can feel sorry for yourself later," Prue spat. "What did you do with our sister?"

"I contacted a group of priests that had experience helping the fallen," replied Marvin. "We brought Piper to my house for a spirit-cleansing ceremony. Somehow, two demons had intervened, posing as two of the priests. They killed myself and the other priests and took your sister with them after binding your sister's powers."

"Who were the demons?" Phoebe asked. "Where did they take her?"

Marvin shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid I don't know."

Prue slammed the Book of Shadows closed and walked toward the attic door, kicking over one of the candles and breaking the connection between her and Marvin. Phoebe ran quickly behind, hoping to keep Prue from doing anything rash.

---

Piper rolled onto her side and stretched. She felt more comfortable than she had in quite a long time. When she opened her eyes she found herself staring at her own white, painted wardrobe.

She sat up in bed and looked around at her bedroom. She was wearing her own pajamas and her hair smelled like the shampoo she always used. She dangled her legs over the side of her bed for a few seconds before standing up and wandering out to the hall. She looked around suspiciously for anything out of the ordinary. She'd been away from the manor for so long, but still remembered everything clearly. As far as she could tell, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. She had to give the demons credit they were good at creating illusions.

Deciding to take advantage of the change in scenery, Piper wandered downstairs to cook something not even remotely closed to a barbequed wild animal carcass. The refrigerator in the kitchen was filled with items the Halliwell's normally purchased during their outings to the grocery store.

Within the hour, Piper had a large, mouth-watering lasagna prepared. She cut herself a piece, plopped it onto a plate and carried it outside to enjoy the fresh air.

Phoebe wandered outside and looked at Piper questioningly. "I thought I smelled dinner," she said softly. "Why didn't you call us?" Piper looked up at Phoebe for a moment before looking back down at her lasagna.

"If you're hungry, go grab a plate," said Piper without any emotion. She refused to be fooled again. She wasn't going to give the demons the satisfaction of confusing her again.

Phoebe's jaw dropped and she continued to stare at Piper. She had never known Piper to be so uncaring before. Piper had always been the nurturing, mother-figure type.

"Is everything ok?" Phoebe asked. She pulled a chair next to Piper and sat down.

"You're not my sister," said Piper as she glared at Phoebe. "I'm not falling for this again and I'm not giving you my powers. You're going to have to think of something new because this is beginning to get old." She took another bite of her lasagna and stared Phoebe in the eye until she got up and went back inside.

She met up with Prue in the kitchen and began making herself a plate of Piper's lasagna.

"Hey, where's Piper?" Prue asked. "I didn't hear her call us for dinner. Is she ok?"

"She's not herself, that's for sure," Phoebe replied. "I don't know what's gotten into her." Prue frowned.

"Should I go talk to her?" Prue asked.

"Good luck with that," Phoebe snorted.

Piper wandered solitarily around the manor for the next few weeks, avoiding any contact with Phoebe and Prue. She spent most of her time at P3 or around San Francisco, enjoying her freedom from the cave she would inevitably end up in once again.

As darkness covered the streets of San Francisco, Piper made her way up the front steps into the towering, red manor. She closed the door behind her and walked into the kitchen to grab a snack before bed.

Prue walked quietly into the kitchen behind Piper and approached her timidly.

"Hey, Piper," she said softly. Piper continued rummaging through the refrigerator, ignoring Prue completely. Prue sighed and waited until Piper turned around. Piper looked at Prue for a second before turning to the sink and rinsing off the apple she had selected from the refrigerator. She grabbed a small paring knife from one of the drawers and sliced off a piece of the apple.

"Come on, Piper. We haven't spoken more than two words to each other in weeks," Prue sighed, defeated. "Is it something that Phoebe and I did or said? You need to give us a hint or something. We have no idea what we did wrong."

Piper chewed on the slice of apple in her mouth for a moment while looking Prue up and down.

"Prue would never wear that," said Piper after swallowing the piece of apple. "If you were the real Prue, you would know that." Prue frowned and looked down at what she was wearing.

"That's right," Piper laughed. "You screwed up." She began slicing another piece from her apple, but stopped and raised the knife. "And if you were really Prue, you could move this knife before I could vanquish you." Prue backed away as Piper came at her with the knife.

"Piper, what the hell has gotten into you?" Prue stammered. She continued to back away as Piper moved in closer. Piper raised the knife and moved to stab Prue in the chest. Prue jumped to the side and kicked the back of Piper's knees, sending Piper to the floor.

Piper landed on her back and rolled onto her side in pain. The kitchen once again melted away and she was left sitting in the dark cave again.

"Smart ass," Loki grumbled angrily. He glared down at Piper and blinked out of the room. Piper glared at the space where Loki had been standing and got to her feet. She picked up a large stone from the floor and angrily threw it at one of the cave walls. Not satisfied with destroying the cave, she sank to the floor and let out an exasperated scream.

---

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please take a moment to review and let me know what your opinions are regarding this story so far.

Only seven more days until the next update!!


	5. Chapter 5

Ahh! Thursday crept up so quickly this week!! This is the last of my pre-written chapters, so I'm going to have to get my act in gear and finish the next chapter. I'm hoping you enjoy this chapter. I'm excited for you to read the last paragraph.

Thank you so much to CharmingKelsey16, Author's Tune, Karmia, and lizardmomma for reading my story and reviewing!! It's very much appreciated.

---

Phoebe sat on Piper's bed surrounded by some of Piper's favorite things. She selected Piper's favorite dress from the pile and clutched it tightly against her body. She closed her eyes and tried to will herself to have a premonition. After a moment, she placed the dress back on the bed feeling defeated and depressed. Piper had been missing for just over six weeks without any clues leading to where she might be. Although she would never admit it to Prue, Phoebe was beginning to feel completely hopeless.

Prue was expected home at 4pm, leaving Phoebe twenty minutes to clean up the mess she had created in Piper's room.

Prue walked into the manor right on time and placed her jacket on the hook near the door. "Pheebs, I'm home!" she shouted as she headed for the kitchen. Phoebe was already sitting at the kitchen table, looking through the paper. She looked up at Prue and smiled slightly.

"How was work?" Phoebe asked, looking back down at the newspaper she had been reading before Prue walked in.

"Fine," replied Prue. She grabbed the phonebook and sat at the table across from Phoebe. She opened the yellow pages to the restaurant section and searched through their supper options.

Phoebe picked up a pair of scissors and began cutting out a section of the newspaper. Prue looked up from the phonebook momentarily to see what Phoebe was doing. She raised one eyebrow and set the phonebook down to watch her sister. Phoebe took the picture she had cut out of the paper and glued it into a black, speckled writing pad full of newspaper clippings and other articles.

"Pheebs, what are you doing?" Prue asked as she stood up to look at the pictures in Phoebe's notebook.

"Making a book for Piper," replied Phoebe without looking up from her work. Prue pulled a chair next to Phoebe and sat next to her. Phoebe had created a scrapbook with all of the newspaper articles and Missing posters of Piper. Each article was dated with a little note beneath them from Phoebe. Some of the pages looked like letters written to Piper.

"When did you start this?" Prue asked, pulling the book away from Phoebe to flip through each page.

"Two weeks after she went missing," replied Phoebe, resting her chin on her hand. "I didn't want her to miss anything while she's gone. This way, when we find her, she can read through this and know what happened while she was away and she'll know how hard we looked for her."

"Phoebe, that's so sweet," said Prue softly as she continued to flip through the book. "When did you write to the paper?" She pointed at one of the articles Phoebe had clipped from the paper. Phoebe had written a short letter to Piper and sent it to the paper soon after the first Missing poster was placed in the paper.

"I just thought that if Piper had access to the paper we could let her know that we're still looking for her," replied Phoebe, a redness filling her cheeks. She tried to turn the page, but Prue took the book and read over the article.

Dear Piper,

We miss you so much. You've been gone for five days already and we haven't stopped looking for you. There isn't a moment during the day that we don't think about you.

We hope you're ok and we want you home as soon as possible. If you have any opportunity to call us, please let us know that you're all right and give us some information so we can find you. We love you so much!!

Love,

Your sisters & Leo.

Prue read over the letter a few times, feeling terrible that she hadn't thought of the idea. She couldn't think of anything to say without breaking down in front of Phoebe. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her and squeezed her tightly. Phoebe smiled and hugged her back.

---

Phoebe continued to write letters to Piper. Any time something happened in the manor, she would jot something down to keep Piper updated. No matter how hard they searched, they still had no leads as to what might have happened to Piper at Marvin Healey's house. The police deduced that their had been a cult ritual that ended with the death of Marvin Healey, although they had no idea how two human bodies had been reduced to piles of ash on the floor or what had happened to Piper following the ritual. Marvin's computer had been destroyed, leaving them no way of knowing about the emails Marvin had sent or the searches he had done.

Phoebe sat on the edge of her bed with her headphones in her ear. She held the end of her pencil to her lip, trying to think of what to add to her letter to Piper. The notebook she had started for Piper had previously been filled. Even Prue and Leo added a few entries now and then. Phoebe had started a new notebook a few days before and was already six pages in. Writing in the notebook had become the next best thing to actually speaking to Piper.

---

August 7, 2000

Day 95

Happy Birthday Piper!!

You are never going to guess what I got you for your birthday this year (Yes, I actually bought something!!) I've put all of your gifts next to your desk so you can open them when you get home. I think I know what everyone got you. Don't worry, I won't tell, but I think you're really, really going to like what Leo got you.

When you get home we're going to have a huge party for you. I've already got it all planned out. You're going to love it.

xoxoxo

Phoebe

---

December 25, 2000

Day 238

Merry Christmas!

It really wasn't Christmas without you, sweetie. We tried sticking with tradition: watching Miracle on 34th Street and Christmas Vacation while drinking hot chocolate with mini marshmallows on Christmas Eve, waking Prue at 6AM to open presents, and making a huge turkey dinner, but it just wasn't the same.

For one, Prue got mad when I woke her up. I guess she finds it less irritating when both of us do it. Also, our turkey dinner was a complete flop. Who knew that Prue and I were THAT bad in the kitchen? Luckily, Leo came through and whipped up a nice macaroni and cheese.

I miss you so much. I've tried scrying on a daily basis and I've written a few spells that should have worked, but nothing is working.

Hopefully Cole brings us some good news tonight. He's been looking for you in the Underworld for nearly two weeks now, so I'm hoping that means he's found a lead to where you might be.

Hang in there, Piper. We'll find you. I promise!

Hugs!

Phoebe

---

September 16, 2001

Day 496

Hey Piper,

You are never going to guess what happened today! Prue booked Nickelback to perform at P3 next weekend. I'm so excited for the show. It's going to be great. I'm not sure if you've heard them before, but you're going to love their music. I'll take pictures for you so you can see who they are. I've already bought their CD, so you and I can listen to it together when you get back.

My classes are going pretty well so far. My first assignment is due the Monday after the concert at P3, so I'm going to start working on it right now and get it done so I don't have to worry about it this weekend. Can you believe it? I think I'm actually beginning to grow up! Talk to you soon!!

Love,

Phoebe

---

September 22, 2001

Day 502

Piper,

The concert was amazing! I really wish you could have seen it. P3 was packed! We had people lined up outside for hours before we opened. I can't believe how many people came.

Even better, I met the most amazing guy. His name is Ryan and he's super hot. He has the nicest butt I have ever seen! I can't wait for you to meet him. I'm going out for supper with him tomorrow night, so I've got to pick out an outfit. I hope you don't mind if I steal one of your shirts. I'll bring it back in one piece, I promise. I'll even have it dry cleaned. You won't even know which one I borrowed!

Love ya,

Phoebe

---

September 23, 2001

Day 503

Hey Piper,

Ignore my last letter. Ryan is a complete jerk!

xoxoxo

Phoebe

---

Piper sat in a corner, watching the demons without rest. She no longer trusted any move they made. They continued to create illusions to fool Piper into thinking she'd gotten free of the cave and all ended in heartbreak for her. The illusions lasted longer each time. The demons continued with their charades until Piper finally fell for the illusion and believed she was free.

Piper had lost count of how long she'd been in the demons' capture. She had been making marks on the cave wall, but the illusions interfered with her count and it was nearly impossible to tell whether it was day or night in the cave. No natural light reached her. The only sources of light were the torches and the large fire in the center of the cave. Piper looked over at the marks carved into the cave wall for each day she had consciously been in the cave. Once she'd reached four hundred she gave up and quit counting. She sighed as she watched the demons approach her.

"Ready to give up your powers yet, Piper?" asked Loki. After living with the demons for over a year, Piper had learned the names of her two captors.

Piper glared up at him after rolling her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? I would rather die than give you mine or my sisters' powers." Loki clenched his teeth and released an angry breath.

"Calm down, Loki," growled Odin. "We didn't wait this long to just give up." Loki nodded reluctantly. He pulled Piper to her feet forcefully and grabbed her hair in one massive hand. Piper glared at him spitefully. She wouldn't let him think he'd broken her. She caught a glint of light in Loki's free hand.

"You're lucky I'm a patient demon," he hissed at her. She could smell the stench of his breath as he breathed into her face. "I'm willing to wait for you to give up your powers. It's much more rewarding to have them handed over than to take them forcefully, but I may grow tired of waiting. He pushed an athame against Piper's neck and forced her head back by pulling her hair. Piper let out a whimper as the blade cut into her skin. Loki pulled the knife away and sliced off Piper's long, chestnut hair. Piper gasped and felt the ends of her now shoulder-length hair.

Odin laughed and followed Loki as he walked to the far end of the cave. The two of them blinked out of sight with Piper's hair tightly encased in Loki's grip.

Piper was so used to her long hair that she felt strange without it. A cold breeze nipped at the back of her neck making her shiver. She walked slowly over to the pool of water and stared down at her reflection within the dark water. She no longer recognized the person staring back at her.

---

October 28, 2001

Day 539

Dear Piper,

We received a package on our doorstep this morning with your hair. I can't even imagine you with short hair, but I hope I get to see you before it grows back. The package came without a return address or a stamp, so I'm assuming whoever has you was here to put it on the doorstep.

Cole just got back after a five day hunt for you. He's been searching the Underworld non-stop for some information about where you are. So far he hasn't been able to squeeze any information out of anyone. So, either no one in the Underworld has heard about you capture or they're all in on it and keeping it a secret.

Leo has been going with Cole on his escapades lately. I think he's run out of places to look for you up here and the Elders have no helpful information either.

Prue's been taking good care of P3 for you. I think she finds it therapeutic being there and keeping it exactly the same as it was before you were taken. I haven't really seen much of her lately. If she's not at Buckland's or P3, she's out looking for you. I stay at the manor and hold down the fort. I've tried writing a few more spells, but none of them have worked yet. I'll keep trying until we get you back though!

I miss you sweetie. Come home soon!

Love,

Phoebe.

---

Leo stood silently in the bedroom he shared with Piper and stared down at a picture of himself with Piper. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there and he really didn't care. He tried to memorize every feature of her face and every curve of her body. He would not let himself lose the image of her. He was already forgetting the smell of her skin after she'd showered and the sound of her laugh.

He found himself shaking with rage. He was mad at himself for not finding Piper, mad at the Elders for not having powers strong enough to seek her out, and mad at whoever had taken Piper away from him. Without realizing it, his rage took over and he found himself throwing various objects around the room.

Prue ran into the room, deflecting the objects headed in her direction with her power. When she reached Leo she grabbed his arms and tried to get through to him. Leo stopped suddenly and looked down at Prue, only just realizing that she was in the room with him. His face was soaked with sweat and tears. He collapsed onto the floor, leaning against the side of his bed and burying his face in his hands. Prue sat down next to him and gently rubbed his shoulder. She said nothing. There was nothing she could say that she hadn't said before. She couldn't even tell him that everything was going to be all right because she no longer truly believed it herself. She sat with him until he was able to compose himself.

"Want to help me vanquish some random demons?" she asked softly. "I find it helps a little."

Leo wiped his nose on his sleeve and nodded. The two of them walked out of the room and headed outside to Prue's car. They said nothing to each other. They sat in silence, staring out the windshield for signs of demon activity, hoping to find any demon that they could take out their anger on.

----

Piper sat with her knees tucked up to her chest. She rocked herself back and forth and rested her forehead on her knees. Loki and Odin blinked in and out of the cave at all hours and continued to trick Piper with their illusions. Piper no longer fell for them. She remained curled up in a ball and refused to participate in any of the shape-shifters illusions.

There were few occasions when they caught her off guard and strung her along for months at a time, but it had become a rare occurrence now. However, every day they offered her a chance to go back home if she gave up her powers. She continued to refuse their offers. She knew better than to trust demons. If she gave them her powers there was very little chance that she would actually be set free. They would most likely kill her.

She'd been stuck with the demons for a great deal of time now. They'd moved her a few times to keep suspicions low in the Underworld. She couldn't guess how long they'd kept her now. Her hair had grown a great deal longer since they'd cut it. It was almost as long as it had been before they cut it.

---

May 7, 2002

Phoebe stared at the calendar on her bedroom wall. She'd woken up in tears that morning and still hadn't quite stopped. The date circled on her calendar marked the second anniversary of Piper's disappearance. The police had given up on looking for Piper a long time ago and Missing posters of Piper were rarely printed anymore. When the box with Piper's hair had been set on the Halliwell's front step the police had taken action to look for any clues as to where she might be, but because there was no way of knowing whether Piper was still alive from the hair, the search ended quickly.

Phoebe wiped her face with her hands and crossed her arms before walking downstairs to greet Prue in the kitchen.

"Hey sweetie," said Prue as she hugged her baby sister. "How are you holding up?"

"It's been two years today, Prue," Phoebe whimpered. "How could we have not found her yet? Where is she?"

"I don't know," Prue sighed, rubbing Phoebe's back in a steady rhythm. "There's nothing we haven't tried. I don't know what else we can do."

"What if they killed her?" Phoebe cried. She pushed away from Prue and grabbed a tissue to dry her eyes. "Why would they keep her for two years!?"

"We know she's still alive," said Prue. "We talked to Grams two days ago and she still hasn't seen Piper. She'd be one of the first people to know if Piper was dead." Phoebe nodded and sat at the table.

They were interrupted by a loud rapping at the front door of the manor. Prue moved quickly to get to the door with Phoebe not far behind her. Prue pulled the door open, a little more aggressively than she had intended, and looked around to see who had knocked on the door.

"Prue," Phoebe squeaked. She pointed to a small box that had been left on the step and took a step back. Prue tentatively lifted the box and closed the door behind her. She and Phoebe walked back to the kitchen and stared at the small, cardboard box.

"I don't think I can handle what's in that box right now," Phoebe whimpered. Prue took a deep breath and removed the lid from the box.

Phoebe screamed and fell to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face between her knees. Prue stepped back and cupped her hand over her mouth, desperately trying to choke back the sobs that were swelling within her chest.

Lying on top of a white tissue was a small, white finger sliced neatly just above the second knuckle.

---

This seems like a good place to leave the story for a week. Pardon my math if I've messed up the count on the days. I didn't even bother checking my calculations after awhile.

Check back next Thursday for the next chapter!!


	6. Chapter 6

Yay, right on time… and I've had a chance to write the next few chapters, so I can't wait to post them. I hope you're enjoying this story!

Thank you NeptuneCharm47, lizardmomma, and Karmia for the reviews!!!

---

Forensic investigators had the front steps of the manor blocked off with yellow tape and were searching for any type of evidence that would lead to Piper's whereabouts. Prue was sitting silently on the sofa in the parlor, staring at the floor. Phoebe had gone to bed. After seeing the finger in the kitchen she'd gotten sick and didn't feel well enough to hang around while the investigators nosed around for evidence.

"How are you holding up?" Daryl asked. He stepped into the parlor and placed one hand on Prue's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Prue replied. "I wish I could say the same for Piper, though." Daryl nodded and sat next to Prue on the sofa.

"Me too," Daryl sighed.

"I don't understand how we could let her go missing for this long," Prue groaned. She rubbed her hand against her forehead and breathed an exasperated sigh. "I don't know what else we can do though. We've tried scrying, every spell in the Book of Shadows, we have everyone in the magical community on the look-out. We even have Leo and Cole scouring the Underworld on a daily basis."

"Whoever did this took a long time to plan this out," said Daryl. "They obviously considered every way that you girls had to find Piper."

"But what do they want?" asked Prue. "They haven't asked for any type of ransom. They haven't had any contact with us at all except for these… gifts." She grimaced as she remembered the finger.

"Maybe they don't want anything from you," Daryl suggested. "Maybe what they want only Piper can give them."

---

Prue walked absently through the entrance of Buckland's auction house and pushed the incline button of the elevator. She waited patiently for the elevator car to arrive at the main floor and take her to her destination. She could feel the eyes of her coworkers watching her as she walked toward her office. Someone had obviously leaked the latest news about Piper around the office. There was no getting around the rumors and gossip.

She closed her door and leaned back against it. Closing her eyes and breathing an frustrated sigh, she sank to the floor and let her head drop to her knees. She hated the pity she got around the office and hated having to work when she could be out looking for Piper. Unfortunately, there was no option to leave. Someone had to pay for the manor.

She eventually made her way over to her desk and looked through her list of items needing to be authenticated before the upcoming auction. The first item on the list was an old statue of a dragon, which had been placed on the corner of her desk. Just as she reached for the small statue, her office phone began to ring. Prue picked up the receiver and rattled off her usual phone introduction.

"Hey Prue, its Daryl," said the familiar voice over the phone. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

Prue placed her free elbow on her desk and rested her head in her hand. "Bad," she sighed, not really wanting to hear what they'd learned about Piper from her finger.

Daryl was quiet for a moment. "Um… actually it's not going to make much sense if I tell you the bad news first," Daryl stuttered. "Honestly I'd thought you'd feel more optimistic." He didn't bother waiting for Prue to reply.

"It wasn't Piper's finger," he continued. Prue dropped the phone and shot out of her chair. She quickly dove for the phone and scrambled to put the receiver back to her ear.

Daryl had obviously noticed that Prue had dropped the phone and was waiting for her to pick it up again. Once she let him know she was back on the line he continued.

"The DNA of the finger didn't match any of the DNA we got from Piper's room," Daryl explained. We matched it to a girl that was found in a ditch just outside of the city just a few days ago." Prue had her hand clasped over her mouth. Tears of relief slid down her cheeks. She felt terrible for the girl that had lost her life, but she was so glad that Piper was still in one piece.

She took a moment to compose herself before thanking Daryl and hanging up. She quickly called the manor to tell Phoebe the good news.

---

Piper wandered slowly around her new environment. For the last few months, Odin and Loki had begun moving her to different locations, always remaining in the Underworld. Everywhere they moved to had some form of fresh, running water for Piper.

Every time they moved, Piper searched the new area for some way of escaping, but never had the opportunity to get away. Odin and Loki were always watching.

The two demons had been gone for quite some time, leaving Piper alone to wander around her new prison. As she ventured into another area, Loki and Odin blinked into the room, forcing her to go back to her spot by the pool of water.

Just as she neared the pool, a swirl of bright lights lit up the room. Leo, Phoebe, and Prue appeared within the lights and looked around.

"Oh, my god," Phoebe gasped. "Piper!"

Piper rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I thought you guys had given up on your little mind games," Piper groaned.

Prue frowned and looked over at the two demons. Before anyone could think, Loki sent an energy ball in their directions, just missing Prue and hitting Leo square in the chest. Just as Prue moved to send the demons flying, Odin blinked out of sight and returned behind Prue. He grabbed Prue tightly, keeping her from moving her arms.

Phoebe ran to Piper's side and grabbed her by the arm. Piper pulled away from Phoebe and turned to walk away.

"Piper?" Phoebe whimpered. "Where are you going?"

Prue watched as her sister walked away. She could feel the intense desire to run over to her sisters and take them somewhere safe. At that moment, she gasped and her head dropped.

Her astral self appeared right in front Piper, causing Piper's jaw to drop.

"Prue?" Piper gasped. "Is it really you?"

"Of course it's me," replied Prue. "Quick. We have to get you out of here." She grabbed Piper's hand and pulled her over to Phoebe.

"You're not going anywhere," Loki chuckled. "The three of you have no powers. The only way to get out of here is to give us what we want."

"And what's that?" Prue spat angrily. She knew he was right. With Piper out of commission, Phoebe's passive power, and herself powerless in Loki's grasp, there was no way out.

"Piper's powers for your freedom," said Odin with a sly grin. "Or a slow, painful death."

"Fine," Prue grumbled. "But how do we know you'll let us go free?"

"What the hell do you want, a written contract?" Loki snapped.

Prue sighed and turned to Piper. "It's the only way out of here, Piper," she whispered. "Once we're out of here, we'll write a Power of Three spell to get your powers back."

Piper stepped back and frowned. "I knew it," she mumbled. "I can't believe I fell for it." She turned to Loki and Odin angrily. "Where did you get the Astral Projection power?"

Odin pushed Prue away and clenched his fists. Prue, Phoebe and Leo disappeared just as every other illusion had.

"I knew she wouldn't fall for it," Odin hissed. "What the hell are we waiting for? Just take her powers already."

Loki pulled and athame from his belt and held it out threateningly. "We don't wait for everyone to just give up their powers, Piper," he warned. "Your time is running out."

Piper crossed her arms and stared the demons down until they blinked out of sight. She breathed a heavy sigh and stared at the fire pit. She walked purposefully over to the fire pit, plucked a piece of charcoal from the center, and walked over to her area. In large letters she wrote: "Help Piper."

She threw the charcoal back into the fire and admired her work. She thought that if her sisters were still looking for her, they could possibly stumble onto her message and know that she was still alive.

Without warning, she was pushed against the wall. Loki grabbed her by the hair and pushed her face against the wall. Piper gasped and clawed at the wall, trying to relieve some of the pressure from being pressed against the rocks.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Loki snapped. "What does it say!?"

"Screw you," Piper muttered through clenched teeth. Loki pulled her away from the wall and threw her to the floor.

"Take it off!" Loki shouted angrily. "Right now!"

Piper stayed on the ground and glared up at Loki. Loki ripped at the wall with his claws and smeared the charcoal until it was no longer legible. He grabbed Piper by the neck and pulled her so close she could feel his breath on her face.

"Try that again and you can forget ever seeing your family again."

---

And that's it for this week!! If you read and enjoy, please review. It's just nice to know people are enjoying your stories. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, a bonus chapter!! (I couldn't wait a whole week to add another). Enjoy!!

Thanks so much to NeptuneCharm47, lizardmomma, and patricia02052 for the lovely reviews. They are very much appreciated!!

Patricia02052 I have no idea if Odin was an Elder (I never really paid attention to their names :P ) After the chapter where they cut off Piper's hair I went searching the internet for a name for each demon and happened to stumble upon Loki and Odin, who were actually mythical gods. It was really cool that Loki had happened to cut the hair off of a woman in the write-up I read about him, so the names really fit these two demons. I'm really happy with how that worked out.

---

Loki and Odin ran hectically around the cave gathering their things. Piper watched silently from the darkened corner she was sitting in. She'd never seen them look so terrified before.

"Hurry and grab the witch," Loki snapped as he gathered the various objects he considered important.

Odin rushed over to Piper and pulled her up by her arm. Piper had no chance to refuse. Odin had a steady grip on her arm and she was being pulled faster than she could keep up.

Within seconds they were in a new location. Odin tossed Piper aside and began helping Loki conceal their new hideaway with various charms and spells.

Something about the new cave was different. Piper could feel a breeze of fresh air coming from somewhere. The cave wasn't hot and muggy as all of the others had been and she could faintly hear wind brushing through the leaves of trees. They were no longer in the Underworld. They were somewhere above ground.

When the demons were satisfied that no one would be able to sense where their new hideaway was, they approached Piper.

"This is it, witch," Loki warned. "No more playing around. You don't eat until we have your powers. So now you have a tough decision to make: die or give up your powers."

Piper glared at Loki and crossed her arms smugly.

"Fine," Loki grumbled. "We'll do it your way. You won't last long. In a few days you're going to be begging us to take your powers."

Piper turned away from the two demons and began searching the cave for fresh water. She could hear Loki and Odin in a deep, whispered conversation. Without looking obvious, she moved closer to hear what they were discussing.

"He's going to find us and kill us," Odin whispered. "It's just a matter of time. We need the witch's powers to get rid of him."

"We have time," Loki hissed. "She'll give us her powers soon enough and we'll be set. The cloak we have on this cave should hold up until then."

"You just had to get that stupid Astral Projection power, didn't you?" Odin retorted. "You knew they'd come after you. It didn't even work!"

---

Piper refused to give in to Loki's demands. She would not give up her powers for any reason. She'd already gone ten days without food. The demons would ask her every day if she was ready to give up her powers, but she had decided a long time ago that she would rather die than intentionally cause the end of the Charmed Ones. The loss of her power would evidently mean giving up her sisters' powers as well.

Loki stood over her angrily, furious that she once again refused to give him her powers. Both of his hands were balled tightly into fists at his sides. He turned away and walked heatedly over to Odin.

"Why do you keep putting yourself through this?" Odin hissed. "Just kill her already!"

"No!" Loki roared. "She will give them to me. I just need more time!"

They were interrupted by a low rumbling. Piper sat in the dark and watched as Loki and Odin tried to find the source of the sound.

In an instant, a dozen demons blinked and shimmered into the cave with the intent to kill Loki and Odin for killing one of their comrades. Fire balls and energy balls began flying from one end of the cave to another. Demons dropped to the rock floor and disintegrated into piles of ash. Odin was the first to be vanquished by the army of demons. He let out an angry scream as his body erupted in flames and turned to dust. Odin tried to escape, but was cornered by three other demons.

Piper watched from her corner. The demons hadn't noticed her and she wanted to keep it that way. She stayed as still as she could and watched as Odin massacred by the crowd of demons. When both shape-shifters were nothing but piles of ash on the ground, the swarm of demons disappeared from the cave one by one, taking the athame Loki used to steal powers with them.

Piper sat alone in the silence. She didn't dare move. Part of her was telling her that Loki and Odin had just created another illusion while the other part of her was telling her she needed to find something to eat and soon.

Using the cave wall to steady herself, Piper pulled herself to her feet. Having eaten nothing in over a week had left her body feeling weak. It took all of her energy to walk toward the cool breeze and out of the cave.

She leaned back against the entrance of the cave to rest for a moment and to see if Odin and Loki would come stop her. When neither of them came, she began walking aimlessly through the thick forest of trees. She had no idea where she was or what she was walking toward, but she had no choice but to wander in hopes of finding food and water.

When she had started walking the sky was bright and the air was warm. As she made her way through the forest, the sun started to descend and the air became cool. When she finally reached a clearing the sun had almost completely set.

She found herself looking down a steep slope at a busy interstate. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she continued walking within the concealment of the trees along the interstate. She soon began recognizing the area. She and her sisters had traveled many times along the Redwood Highway on their trips to Sausalito. Within a few hours she would be on the Golden Gate Bridge and in the vicinity of food and clean water.

---

Daryl drove slowly through the darkened streets of San Francisco. The windshield wipers moved quickly across the glass in a steady rhythm, pushing the fallen rain aside to clear Daryl's view. His partner, Jared, was tapping a quick rhythm on the dash of the squad car. His whole body moved in time with the beat.

Daryl rolled his eyes and turned onto an empty street. It was a slow night for crime, which was great, of course, but it meant Daryl and Jared had to drive around aimlessly with nothing to do.

Jared leaned back in his seat and rummaged through the glove compartment, searching for something that could occupy him for some length of time.

"I hate night shifts," Jared groaned finally after finding nothing of interest in the glove compartment. "I'm bored out of my mind."

Daryl nodded silently in agreement. He slowed the car and squinted at something outside. "Who the hell would be out this late on a night like this?" he asked.

Jared peered out of the windshield to see what Daryl was looking at. A small figure was walking slowly and slightly unbalanced through the rain. As they moved closer they could make out the figure of a small woman wearing a tattered dress. Her feet were bare and her hair was clinging to her shoulders from the rain. She looked back for a second before moving off of the sidewalk to hide in the shadows.

"She looks really familiar," said Jared. Daryl could tell he was trying to figure out where he had seen the girl before.

Daryl pulled the car to the side of the street and continued to follow the woman. Jared opened the window so that they could speak to her once they were close enough. The woman stopped and began walking back the way she had come.

"Oh, my god," Daryl gasped as he caught a better glimpse of the woman. He pulled the stick into "park" and got out of the car. Jared frowned and followed his partner.

"Morris, what the hell are you doing?" Jared hissed, not wanting to get the girls attention.

"Piper?" Daryl asked as he walked toward the woman. She began walking faster, trying to get away from the two men.

"Halliwell?" Jared panted. He was jogging to keep up with Daryl. "From the posters?"

Daryl sped up and grabbed hold of Piper's wrists. She cried out and tried to pull away. Daryl grabbed her other wrist so that she was facing him. She was smaller and paler than he remembered, but it was definitely Piper. She continued to pull away, but was no match for Daryl. She dropped to her knees and stared at the pavement. Daryl knelt beside her and pushed her hair away from her face.

"What happened to you?" he asked softly. Piper glared up at him and pulled her hands away. Daryl looked her over, noticing how sickly she looked. "Let's get you into the car where it's warm." He pulled her to her feet and gently led her over to the squad car, keeping her upright as she struggled to walk. With some persuasion he got her into the back seat of the squad car.

"Is it her?" Jared whispered. Daryl nodded and walked over to the driver's side door. His heart was pounding loudly within his chest. He was excited, anxious, and concerned all at once. He looked through the back window at Piper and examined her features. He knew it was her, but he was terrified that maybe he was wrong. How could she appear out of nowhere after nearly three years?

The two men crawled into the car and buckled themselves in. Jared adjusted the heat to help Piper warm up. Daryl adjusted his rearview mirror so that he could clearly see her. Now that she had a chance to sit down he could see how bad her condition was. She was shaking uncontrollably and looked like she was about to pass out.

"Piper, when was the last time you ate something?" Daryl asked.

"There's a convenience store up the block," Jared suggested.

Daryl pulled into the parking lot of the convenience store and ran inside to get a sport's drink for Piper. He sat back in the car, cracked open the bottle and passed it back to Piper.

She stared at him for a few seconds with uncertainty before grabbing the bottle chugging its contents. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had something to drink and didn't know when she would have another opportunity, so she drank it as fast as she could. She wiped her mouth with her arm and passed the bottle back to Daryl. Jared raised one eyebrow and tried not to smile as Daryl stared at the empty bottle in disbelief.

Daryl set the bottle in the cup holder beside him and headed for the hospital that Sheila worked at.

---

Sheila led Piper into a small bedroom with a twin bed and a dresser. Piper crawled onto the bed and leaned back against the wall. She had had a bath and she was wearing a white, long sleeve under a pink t-shirt with matching pants that Sheila had given her.

Sheila sent one of the nurses to get Piper something to eat and stood in the corridor with Daryl.

"How is she?" Daryl asked softly. He looked over at Piper and watched as she brushed her hair.

"Half-starved," replied Sheila. "We're going to try to get some food in her. Other than that there wasn't too much bruising, so it doesn't look like she was abused."

"I still need to call Prue and Phoebe," said Daryl. "I just want to make sure everything's ok before they get here." Sheila nodded in agreement.

A nurse walked passed them with a tray of food and set it on the bed next to Piper. Piper stared at the nurse and waited for her to leave before devouring the food in front of her. Sheila quickly stepped in and tried to talk Piper into slowing down.

Piper stopped eating and stared down at her plate. Sheila knelt next to Piper and tried to push Piper's hair behind her ears. She could tell from Piper's face that something was wrong. Piper pushed Sheila's hand away and breathed heavily.

Sheila quickly grabbed the garbage bucket from beside the bed and handed it to Piper. Piper grabbed the bucket and proceeded to vomit until her stomach was empty again. Sheila gently rubbed Piper's back and pulled her hair away from her face.

"What did you do to me?" Piper gasped breathlessly.

"Nothing," replied Sheila, slightly caught of guard by Piper's accusation. "You haven't eaten in a long time. You have to take it slow." She handed Piper a tissue to wipe her mouth and took the bucket.

"Can you watch her for a moment?" Sheila asked as she walked passed Daryl. He nodded and entered the room. Piper looked up at him angrily.

"Still hungry?" Daryl asked sarcastically with a slight smile. Piper rolled her eyes and leaned back against the wall. Daryl passed her a glass of water from the dresser next to the bed. Piper took it begrudgingly and slowly took a few sips.

---

Phoebe and Prue raced into the hospital and over to the information desk.

"Piper Halliwell, please," Phoebe gasped. "Where is she?"

The receptionist smiled and quickly checked her computer. "Ninth floor," she replied sweetly. "Room 912."

Prue grabbed Phoebe's and pulled her toward the elevator as she thanked the receptionist. They stepped into the elevator, pushed the "9" button repetitively and waited impatiently for the elevator to begin its slow ascent to the ninth floor. Without fail, the elevator ended up stopping at each floor to pick up more people.

Upon reaching their floor, the girls rushed out of the elevator and stopped short when they read the sign above the main door. Prue was the first to walk toward the door and enter.

"This has got to be a mistake," Phoebe mumbled as she followed Prue into the Psychiatric Ward.

---

More next Thursday!!!


	8. Chapter 8

I'm not late! It's still Thursday for the next hour and a half! Got distracted with a few season finales. I don't watch Grey's Anatomy, but O…M…G… I'm not going to be able to wait until September for the conclusion. Stupid cliff hangers!! Anywho, here's the next chapter for ya!

Thanks so much to patricia02052, lizardmomma, Soulstar86, Charmedfam, NeptuneCharm47, Karmia and Mom2Pooh-n-Nu for all the reviews!!! I really appreciate them and enjoy reading them.

Prue and Phoebe opened the door of the Psychiatric Ward and walked hesitantly inside. The area they walked into was a waiting room that faced a locked door and a small office with a barred window.

"Can I help you?" asked the receptionist with a large, friendly smile. Prue approached the window and checked with the receptionist to make sure they were on the right floor.

"You're in the right place," the receptionist replied, politely. "I'll open the door for you." They could hear and loud buzzing sound and the lock of the door clicked open. Prue grabbed the handle and opened the door. The two girls stepped inside and let the door close behind them. They could hear the door lock behind them and felt an uneasiness of being locked in.

"I've just paged Sheila Morris for you," the receptionist informed them. "She'll be here shortly to talk with you. But before you can head in there are few procedures we need to go through."

Phoebe and Prue were given visitor bracelets and were asked whether they had items with them that might be unsafe for some of the patients. They left their purses and information with the receptionist and sat in the chairs next to the office.

A few screams and laughter could be heard from behind the two doors in front of them. Phoebe chewed at her fingernail nervously and stared at the two doors. One door led to the men's ward, the other to the women's.

"Can you believe in all the time we've known Sheila we've never asked her what she did for a living?" Prue asked, breaking the silence within the room.

"I can't say I would have guessed she worked here," Phoebe replied softly. "I kind of pictured her as a nurse, but not in this kind of place." Prue smiled lightly.

Within a few moments, Sheila appeared from behind the door on the right. She smiled at the girls and motioned for them to follow her.

"How is she?" Prue asked as they followed Sheila down the hall.

"She's doing well," replied Sheila. "She's eaten a few meals now and kept them down. She's still not speaking much and she's still very leery of… well, everybody. She doesn't like to be touched or confined."

"Was she…" Phoebe began hesitantly. "Did they do anything to her?"

Sheila wrapped one arm around Phoebe and squeezed her. "She's fine," she replied with assurance. "There are a few bumps and bruises, but nothing too bad." She looked at Phoebe and studied the expression on her face. "She has all ten fingers, Pheebs." Phoebe smiled and exhaled anxiously.

A number of patients were wandering the hall with people that had come to visit them. Aside from the slippers on their feet, there was almost no way to tell that many of them were patients. Phoebe tried not to stare at each of them as they walked passed. One woman was sitting in a chair, staring off into space with a string of drool hanging from the bottom of her lip.

Sheila led them to a small common room with a television, a few sofas, and a bookshelf with books ranging from children's picture books to novels and encyclopedias. A few patients were sitting around the room. Among them, curled in a ball on one of the sofas, was Piper.

Phoebe immediately ran towards Piper, jumped onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around her. Piper flinched and slipped out of Phoebe's embrace. She stood up, glaring at Phoebe, and walked away. Phoebe sat, stunned, as she watched Piper disappear around a corner.

"Oh!" Prue gasped. She ran to Phoebe's side and wrapped her arms around her.

"You'll have to take it slow," Sheila explained as she walked toward Phoebe and Prue. "She's been through a lot and she's not herself. Just give her time, she'll come around. I promise."

Piper moved quickly down the hall, avoiding eye contact with everyone she passed. She searched determinedly for some way out and away from Odin and Loki's disguises. She stopped suddenly as she noticed a fire exit at the end of one of the hallways. She discreetly scanned the room before making a break for the door. As she pushed the door open, a siren screamed throughout the ward. A number of the patients began screaming and ripping around the hallways. Before Piper could step through the door, one of the Psych Techs grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the door.

"Let go of me!" Piper snapped. She tried to pull away from him, but he had a good grip on her arm. She whipped around and kneed him in the groin, causing him to drop to his knees and giving her a chance to escape. She ran back toward the common room and was cornered by another psych tech.

"Whoa, calm down Piper. You're ok," grunted Mason, the psych techs. He pulled Piper over to one of the sofas, crossed her arms at the elbow, placed her hands on the back of the sofa and held her wrists tightly. Piper struggled to free herself and kicked her feet back in attempt to hurt him enough to let her go.

He attempted to talk her into calming down, but Piper was desperate to get away. Prue, Phoebe, and Sheila watched tensely from across the room. Sheila breathed a disappointed sigh and shook her head in defeat.

Patrick, the psych tech that Piper had temporarily taken down at the fire door, limped over to Piper and Mason with a syringe containing a chemical restraint in his hand. Piper looked over at him as he approached and broke into a cold sweat. Mason could feel her body begin to tremble against his chest.

"No!" Piper protested. She tried to shrink back against Mason, but couldn't move far within his grip. Seeing what was about to happen, Phoebe ran over to Piper and kneeled on the sofa so that she could be close to Piper. She watched as Mason continued to talk softly to Piper to calm her down.

Piper turned her head away and closed her eyes as Patrick pushed the syringe into her hip. She could feel every muscle in her body immediately begin to relax and her head fell back against Mason's shoulder.

"You'll be ok, Piper," said Phoebe sympathetically as she placed her hand on top of Piper's. "We'll take you home as soon as we can."

Piper looked angrily and Phoebe and struggled to keep her eyes open. "You're not my sister!" she mumbled before giving into the medication. Mason released his grip on Piper's wrists, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to her room.

"You forgot to wear your cup again, didn't you?" Mason laughed as Patrick limped slowly behind him. Patrick flashed a sarcastic smile and rolled his eyes.

Phoebe sat in shock as the two psych techs carried Piper out of sight. She slipped off of the sofa and wandered back over to Prue and Sheila. Prue wrapped her arms tightly around Phoebe and let her cry into her shoulder.

"When can we bring her home?" Prue sighed, looking over at Sheila.

"I can pull some strings if you want me to," replied Sheila. 'But she wasn't really brought to this ward just because I'm here. She has gotten really violent and she shows signs of really serious traumatic disorders that need to be worked out." Prue nodded her head sadly. The moment she had seen Piper her instincts had told her that they wouldn't be taking her home for awhile.

"Has she used her… gift?" Prue whispered, trying to avoid having anyone overhear. Sheila shook her head.

"Not that I've noticed, anyway," Sheila replied. "I haven't noticed any strange jumps in time and nothing's burst into flames yet."

Prue shook her head angrily. "They must have done something to keep her from using them," she fumed.

"What if they took them from her, Prue?" Phoebe asked seriously. "Maybe that's why Leo couldn't sense her. Without her powers she's not really a witch."

"She's still a witch," Prue assured her. "And we'll find a way to get them back. We just have to get Piper to tell us what happened to them."

After discussing Piper's condition further with Sheila, Prue and Phoebe went to Piper's room to spend some time with her. Phoebe stood off to the side of the room, not wanting to make Piper angry again. Prue sat on Piper's bed and gently ran her hand over Piper's hair.

"I know you're confused right now, sweetie," Prue whispered softly. "But I promise you everything is going to be ok from now on. We're going to find whoever did this to you." Piper glared up at Prue, with a great deal of effort. Unable to move her limbs, she had to endure the touch of the demon against her skin. It disgusted her to see Loki and Odin posing as her sisters.

Phoebe wandered over to Piper's bedside as Prue continued to speak softly to her. Piper closed her eyes tightly and tried to fall asleep so she could stop listening to the demon's lies.

"We'll find some way to prove we're your sisters," said Phoebe, sitting on the bed next to Prue. She pulled Piper's hand across her torso and held it between both of hers.

The room suddenly lit up with a bright, white light. Leo appeared in the center of Piper's room with Cole at his side. His jaw dropped and he stared down at Piper.

Phoebe leapt off of the bed and quickly ran to close the door. "Are you crazy?" she hissed. "Someone could have seen you. You have to get out of here. How are we going to explain how you got here?"

"We're fine," said Cole sarcastically. "I missed you too. Don't worry, we're fine. We were able to vanquish the demon before he could murder us."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Cole's neck. "I really missed you and I am so glad you're safe, but you really have to go." She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his. She stepped back and playfully smacked Cole's backside. "Now quick, before someone sees you."

"But… Piper," Leo gasped. "Is she ok? Where did you find her? Did you vanquish whoever took her?"

"Go to reception desk and sign in and we'll talk about this when you haven't magically appeared in her room, all right," Prue suggested. "But seriously, you gotta go before they come around to check on us."

Leo nodded and disappeared in the same swirl of light he had entered from. Cole shimmered out of sight just as a nurse opened the door to check on Piper. She smiled at the three girls, scribbled a checkmark onto her clipboard and left the room.

Both Phoebe and Prue breathed a sigh of relief, having safely evaded unwanted questions from the hospital staff.

---


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you so much to all of you that reviewed the last couple of chapters. I really appreciate the feedback!! Keep up the reviews and enjoy the next chapter!!

---

Piper sat on the edge of her bed and stared out of the barred window of her room. Her "family" had left just after visiting hours had ended, leaving Piper to sleep. Piper slept through the night with the help of the sedatives the nurses gave her. After waking, Piper showered and ate breakfast before seeking the silence of her room.

A light tapping interrupted the silence in the room. Piper didn't bother to look up. The psych ward nurses had been doing checks every half hour to make sure the patients were all right. Sheila slowly opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Hey, Piper," she said with a smile. "How are you doing?" Piper sighed and rolled her eyes. Sheila wandered further into the room and sat next to Piper on the edge of the bed.

"I was thinking maybe we could get you out of your room and doing something fun," Sheila proposed. Piper raised her eyebrow skeptically and looked Sheila in the eye. "We were planning on making soup for dinner today and thought maybe you could help us out in the kitchen." Piper looked back at the window, letting Sheila know she wasn't interested.

"I'm not saying you have to believe I am who I say I am," Sheila explained. "I just don't want you to feel trapped in here. You might as well have some fun while you're here. No strings attached. I promise." She brushed Piper's hair over her shoulder and took her hand. "Come on. I'll show you where the kitchen is."

Piper followed Sheila through the corridor toward the staff kitchen. Sheila unlocked the door and led Piper inside. Piper wandered into the kitchen and looked around. There were bowls and spices set up on the counter with vegetables already chopped.

"I've never really had much luck with soup," Sheila confessed. "I never know which spices to use. I was hoping I could watch you and learn." Piper stepped over to the stove and looked at the chicken carcass that was already boiling in water.

She and Sheila got to work on the soup. Sheila passed Piper the pre-chopped vegetables and watched as Piper added a number of spices, not bothering to measure anything out. Sheila began making wraps while Piper continued making the soup. The two of them worked quietly together, making lunch for the patients and staff.

---

Phoebe, Prue, and Leo waited for the receptionist to place the visitor bracelets around their wrists and grant them entrance into the women's ward. The lock of the door buzzed as it was unlocked until Leo pushed the door open. They walked straight to Piper's room and walked inside without knocking.

Piper's room was empty. Prue crossed her arms and observed the room as Phoebe set the cloth bag full of clothes they had brought for Piper on the foot of the bed. They had spent their morning picking through Piper's closet for her favorite articles of clothing. After seeing Piper in the pink pajama suit they knew they had to bring her something decent to wear.

"Any ideas where to look for her?" Prue asked, looking at Leo. Leo stood in one spot for a moment and focused on his charges.

"This way," he replied, leading the girls back out of the room. They found Piper sitting in the common room, watching TV with a few of the other patients. Piper and the two other women looked over at he trio as they approached the sofa.

"Hey, sweetie," said Phoebe excitedly. "We brought you some clothes from home so you want have to wear that pink thing anymore."

"Thanks," Piper mumbled, looking back at the TV.

"We got a day pass for you," said Prue, kneeling in front of Piper. "We're going to get you out of here for a bit. Do you want to come get some fresh air? We can go check out P3 or the manor if you want."

Piper nodded and followed them to Sheila's office. Sheila was sitting quietly at her desk, going through some paper work for her patients. She looked up at the Halliwell's and smiled.

"Hey, guys," she greeted. "You're early. Come on in."

Leo led Piper over to a chair across from Sheila's desk and stood behind her. Phoebe sat on the other chair and watched as Sheila finished her paper work.

"All right, let's get you ready to go," Sheila proposed. She removed the bracelet from Piper's wrist and replaced it with a day pass bracelet. She explained when Piper would have to be brought back and what to watch for before leading them to the exit.

---

Piper wandered through the main floor of the manor, stopping to look at a few pictures on the fridge that she hadn't seen before. There were pictures of Phoebe and Prue at a variety of events at P3 and a few at the manor.

"We tried not to change too much while you were gone," Phoebe spoke softly from the door of the manor. "It's pretty much exactly the same as it was when you were here." Piper stepped away from the fridge and slipped passed Phoebe before heading upstairs.

Phoebe followed close behind Piper, wanting to be involved in every step she made. Prue and Leo stayed back, not wanting to get in the way.

"What can we do?" Prue whispered when Piper and Phoebe had disappeared up the stairs. "There has to be someway that we can prove to her that we're her family."

"I think it's just going to take patience," replied Leo. He wrapped his arm around her supportively. "She'll have to come to trust us in her own time." Prue sighed and crossed her arms. Patience wasn't a virtue she had been blessed with. She liked to be in control of every situation.

"Any news on who took her?" Prue asked. Leo shook his head.

"Cole is in the Underworld trying to get some information, but nothing's come up so far," replied Leo. "Whoever took Piper knew what they were doing and how to keep it covered up."

"What about her powers?" Prue asked. "She hasn't tried to use them, which makes me think she doesn't have them."

"I'm pretty sure they've just been bound," Leo answered. "There's a spell in the book of shadows to unbind them. I just don't think that would be a good idea right now. Sheila warned us that she's been a bit violent lately. Restoring her powers could be dangerous to everyone."

Prue nodded her head in agreement. The two of them walked upstairs to check up on Piper and Phoebe. They found the two of them in Piper's room.

"There are Christmas and birthday presents there for you," Phoebe quipped. "You can open them whenever you want."

Piper stared at the collection of brightly coloured gift bags and boxes stacked in the corner of her room.

"Maybe later," Piper muttered. She stood in the center of the room and looked around. Her room was exactly as she had left it.

"It's almost time for lunch," said Prue. "I was going to make us a little something to eat. Do you want to come help me out?" Piper shrugged and followed Prue out of the room.

Piper rummaged through the fridge in search of something to whip up for lunch. Phoebe and Leo sat silently at the table, watching as the two eldest sisters worked together to create a meal.

As Piper mixed her ingredients into a bowl, she spotted the wooden block where the sisters kept their sharp knives. Were the demons stupid enough to make the same mistake twice?

She glanced over at Prue before moving nonchalantly over to the knives. In a quick motion, she grabbed the largest knife and turned to face Prue. Prue had her back turned on Piper and was clueless as to what was about to happen. Phoebe and Leo were deep in conversation and hadn't noticed what Piper was about to do.

Piper held the knife, ready to strike and brought the knife down toward Prue's back.

---

And that's all until next week. Sorry it's not a very long chapter, but I hope it tides you over for a bit!!


	10. Chapter 10

Wow, it's finally Thursday. It's been such a long week. My poor kitty passed away on Friday and my students are bouncing off the wall and need a nice long summer vacation (as do I!!) I hope your week went better than mine did.

Thank you so much to Mom2Pooh-n-Nu, patricia02052 and lizardmomma for the reviews. I really appreciate reading what you've thought about my story. This chapter is longer than the last two, so I hope it's a better length for you to read.

---

Piper stepped back, with the bloody knife held tightly at her side, and glared at Prue. Prue's mouth dropped open as she gingerly touched the wound on her shoulder. She turned and faced Piper in disbelief.

"Oh, my god!" Phoebe gasped. She leapt up from the table and kicked the knife out of Piper's hand. Piper stared at the crimson liquid dripping to the floor from Prue's shoulder. She had expected the demons to bleed a different colour than red. They didn't usually bleed the same as humans.

Leo quickly pulled Prue aside and began healing her shoulder. "Are you ok?" Phoebe asked Prue as she wrapped her arms around Piper to keep her from going after the knife.

"I'm fine," Prue replied, trying not to panic. "Everything's fine. We have to agree not to say anything about this to anyone at the hospital though." Phoebe nodded and gently ran her hand over Piper's hair.

"It's all right, honey," she soothed. "We know you didn't mean it." Piper stepped back angrily, pulling away from Phoebe's embrace.

"It's ok, Piper. I'm fine," said Prue. "Look, only Whitelighters can heal, right?" She watched Piper hopefully. Piper rolled her eyes and pushed her way out of the kitchen.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Prue inquired, looking in Leo's direction. Leo shrugged.

"Not necessarily," he replied timidly. Prue sighed and crossed her arms. "Don't rush her, Prue. She'll figure it out eventually."

"Hopefully sooner rather than later," Phoebe grimaced as she picked the knife up off of the floor and placed it in the kitchen sink. "Maybe we should Piper-proof the manor before we bring her home again." She smiled weakly and looked around.

"I'm going to check on her," said Leo as he turned to leave the room. "You girls finish with dinner and I'll keep Piper preoccupied." The girls nodded and resumed the meal preparation.

Leo walked over to the staircase and closed his eyes, focusing on Piper's energy. He could sense how angry she was and where she'd wandered off to. He slowly opened the front door of the manor and looked down at Piper. She was sitting on the top step with her arms wrapped around her knees.

Without a word, Leo sat on the top step, leaving a few feet of distance between the two of them. He sat completely silent, enjoying the feeling of sitting next to Piper again. Piper looked over at him for a moment then looked out at the street. She waited for him to say something to break the silence, but he remained mute.

The two of them sat silently together on the front stoop for almost an hour. Leo finally looked over at Piper and broke the silence.

"I think dinner is ready," he said softly. "You ready to go in and eat something?" Piper continued to stare out at the street, refusing to respond in any way.

"Well," Leo grunted as he stood up and stretched. "I'm going to head in and eat. You can come join us whenever you're ready. We won't force you to talk to us or anything. We just want to feed you."

Piper looked back at the front door of the manor as Leo disappeared behind it. She considered staying where she was, but she really wasn't that comfortable. She was getting quite hungry as well.

After thinking it over, she stood up and walked into the manor. She wandered slowly into the dining room and looked around at the table. The girls had prepared an elaborate dinner especially for Piper.

She walked around the table to a chair that wasn't very close to anyone and sat down. She tried not to smile as she looked at her table setting. Each of them had colourful plastic cups and plastic utensils, rather than glass and stainless steel. Everything at the table was child-friendly; and apparently, Piper-safe as well.

---

Piper stepped out of her room and looked around at the psych ward corridor. The ward was a great deal quieter after visiting hours. Many of the patients headed to their rooms or sat in front of the TV once their friends and family went home.

Piper crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall, staring longingly at the fire door. She knew that if she could reach it, she could escape, but their always seemed to be someone nearby that could stop her. Odin and Loki seemed to have created the perfect prison with no way for her to escape.

She could see Mason, the psych tech, doing his round of checks of each of the rooms. He smiled at her as he walked passed and continued making his way down the corridor. Piper walked casually behind him and made her way to the end of the corridor, next to the fire door. She stared out of the window and listened as Mason continued his checks behind her.

"What's up, Piper?" Mason asked. He leaned against the window once he was finished his checks. Piper shrugged and continued to stare out the window. "You're not thinking of running again, are you?"

Piper frowned and looked at him questioningly. "No," she grumbled defensively. "What, I can't look out a window now?" Mason smiled.

"Of course you can," Mason replied cheerfully. "I just thought it was curious that you would choose this window." Piper rolled her eyes and shot him an annoyed look. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to your window gazing. Don't get into any trouble."

Piper watched as Mason walked back the way he came and disappeared into Sheila's office, no doubt to tell Sheila about Piper. When Piper was absolutely certain she wasn't being watched by anyone nearby, she shot through the fire door and took off running.

The moment the fire door opened an alarm began to ring. Piper ran up the stairs and pushed through the door to the next floor, hoping Mason and the rest of the psych ward staff would assume she would go downstairs. She was still wearing her street shoes from her home visit, so she wasn't wearing slippers that would give her away. Besides the hospital bracelet on her wrist, there was no way of knowing she was a patient.

As she walked quickly through the corridor, an announcement came over the speaker system throughout the hospital alerting everyone of her escape. Piper cursed under her breath and sped toward the door leading out of the ward she was in. When she approached the door, the door slammed closed and the lock clicked shut, preventing her from leaving. The bracelet around her wrist had a small microchip that forced the hospital doors locked if she was placed on alert.

Piper rolled her eyes and ducked into an empty room. She hid in one of the corners of the room and tried to pull the bracelet off. Unable to get it off, she looked around the room for something she could use to cut through the plastic. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the room that would work.

She cautiously moved toward the door of the room and looked around for something she could use to remove the bracelet. Across the corridor from the room she was in was a small janitorial closet. She ducked into the janitorial closet without catching anyone's attention and closed the door.

Using a utility knife, she cut off the bracelet and tossed it in the garbage on the janitor's trolley. She grabbed the janitor's uniform from the back of the door and put it on. She curled her hair around her hand and tucked it under the janitor's hat and pushed his trolley into the corridor. No one gave her a second glance as she stepped into the elevator with the trolley and headed toward the first floor.

With her head hunched over, she pushed the trolley out of the elevator, walked toward the front exit, and stepped outside, leaving the trolley at the door. She continued to walk quickly around the building and into an alley before discarding the janitor's clothes next to one of the hospital's back doors and taking off into the street.

----

Sheila paced anxiously around her office with her cell phone at her ear. She had already called Daryl to keep an eye out for Piper and had the security guards reviewing the security tapes from each ward to see where Piper had gotten to.

"I don't know how she could have left the building," Sheila explained. "Her bracelet should have kept her from getting far."

"It's all right, Sheila," Phoebe comforted. "As soon as we contact Leo, we'll get him to see if he can locate her. I'm sure she'll be ok." Prue walked into the manor's kitchen and looked at Phoebe questioningly. Phoebe finished her conversation with Sheila and flipped her cell phone closed.

"What's up?" Prue asked. She placed her elbows on the island and looked up at Phoebe.

"Piper ran away," Phoebe replied. "She got out using the fire exit and somehow disappeared somewhere in the hospital." Prue stood up straight and placed her hands on the island.

"They don't know where she is?" Prue gasped. "Was she taken again!?"

Phoebe shook her head and explained Piper's earlier escape. Prue listened intently, every muscle in her body completely tense. As soon as Phoebe stopped speaking, she immediately shouted Leo's name. Phoebe cringed and clasped her hands over her ears.

Leo orbed into the room and looked at each sister. "What happened?" he asked.

"Piper's run away," replied Prue. "Can you sense her?" Leo stood still for a moment and focused on Piper.

"She's in a crowd of people," Leo explained, keeping his eyes closed. "…I think she's on a bus."

"So I'm guessing that orbing isn't an option," Phoebe groaned. "Can you tell where she's headed?"

"It looks familiar," Leo continued. "She just got off near a beach. It looks like Seal Rocks State Beach."

"Is she alone?" Prue asked. Leo nodded and held out his hands, inviting the girls to orb with him.

They orbed onto a large, rocky ledge overlooking the ocean. Piper was sitting alone with her legs crossed looking out at the vast expanse of blue water.

"I knew you'd come," she sighed, defeated. She stood up and turned to look at them. Prue caught a glimpse of the utility knife in Piper's hand.

"Piper, come on," Phoebe begged. "Let's go home."

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Piper growled. "I told you, I'm not giving them to you. Just kill me and get it over with already." Phoebe cupped her hand over her mouth and took a step back.

"What do they want from you?" Prue asked calmly, hoping to get Piper to settle down enough to get the knife away from her. She could see Piper's hands shaking at her sides.

"We don't want anything from you, sweetie," Phoebe soothed. "We just want you to come home."

Piper rolled her eyes and slid the blade out of the utility knife with her thumb. Prue swung out her arm and sent the utility knife flying. It went over the cliff and disappeared into the surf. Piper took a step back, inching her way closer to the edge of the ridge.

"Oh my god, Prue," Phoebe gasped, realizing that her sister was threatening to step over the ledge. Leo moved forward to stop Piper, but realized his mistake when Piper took another step back.

Piper stared each of them in the eye and took another step back. Her heel dangled dangerously over the ledge. She clenched her fists to keep her hands from shaking and took a deep breath before lifting her other foot and stepping over the edge.

Phoebe screamed and bolted toward Piper. Prue threw her arm out and sent Piper flying toward them and away from the edge of the ridge. Piper landed hard on the stone surface and rolled a few feet before lying in a motionless heap. Phoebe and Leo rushed to Piper's side. Phoebe pulled Piper into her arms and cradled her tightly against her torso. Leo took Piper's hands and held them between his own.

"Is she ok?" Prue asked as she ran toward them.

"I think so," Phoebe whimpered. "I think she hit her head." Leo ran his fingers through Piper's hair and examined the laceration along her hairline. "What are we going to do, Prue? I don't know how we can help her." She watched as Leo's hand began to glow over Piper's forehead.

"I don't know," Prue sighed.

Piper's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, allowing the disorientation to subside. Phoebe could feel every muscle in Piper's body tense as she realized where she was. Piper pushed away from Phoebe and Leo and tried to run but Prue grabbed her by the arm before she could get far. Piper fell to the ground and fought with Prue, trying her hardest to get away.

Prue pulled Piper into a tight embrace, keeping Piper from being able to use her arms and limiting her ability to fight back. She kept holding Piper as she kicked and screamed and wriggled in an attempt to free herself. Finally, after putting up a good fight, she gave up and dropped to her knees.

"Please let me go," Piper sobbed hopelessly. Prue released her hold on Piper and knelt beside her, gently rubbing her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, honey," Prue whispered. "I don't know what they did to you. We want you to be able to trust us, but I don't know what to do. We don't want you to disappear again. We've missed you so much." She could feel herself breaking down. Her eyes burned as she fought back her tears.

Piper choked back a few sobs before bowing her head and closing her eyes. "I can't take it anymore," she whimpered. "Just take them. You can have my stupid powers."

---

All right. I've given you six pages to last you until next week. I hope that's long enough to tide you over. : ) Enjoy your week!! Don't forget to review if you like what you read.


	11. Chapter 11

The alley behind the hospital was dark and quiet. One of the janitors opened a back door and pushed a cart full of garbage bags into the alley. He propped the door open with an empty milk crate and began tossing the garbage bags into the large, green trash bin next to the door. He pushed the now-empty cart back through the door, kicked the milk crate aside, and let the door close behind him.

As soon as the door clicked shut, the alley was illuminated with a bright, white light. Leo, Prue, Phoebe, and Piper materialized from within the glow and soon found themselves in the dark as the light from Leo's orb disappeared.

They began walking around the building toward the front door. Phoebe held Piper's hand as they walked through the alley. Piper walked slowly beside her; her head was bowed and she wasn't fighting back at all. She'd given up and was going to do whatever Loki and Odin told her to do in hopes that they would take her powers and let her go home.

They entered the large building and walked straight into the elevator. Piper leaned back against the wall of the elevator and watched as each numbered button lit up during their ascent. She sighed as the doors slid open and she was led back into the Psychiatric ward.

Leo, Sheila, and Daryl stood in the corridor, looking into Piper's room as Phoebe and Prue sat Piper down on the bed.

"Is she ok?" Sheila inquired softly. She could tell something was different about Piper. She no longer looked angry and hateful; she now looked tired and heartbroken.

"She's given up," replied Leo. "Whoever took her was trying to break her. They wanted her to give up her powers."

Daryl frowned and looked at Leo. "Couldn't they just take her powers?" he asked. "I don't really know much about magic and witchcraft and stuff, but I thought demons had the ability to take powers if they wanted to."

"They can," Leo replied. "I'm guessing they wanted the satisfaction of having her surrender her powers to them instead."

Sheila cupped her hand over her mouth and looked back at Piper. "She held out this long?" she gasped. Leo nodded sadly.

---

Piper walked around in a fog for the next few days. In order to keep herself and others safe, she had been given heavy sedatives at night, which didn't completely wear off until around noon the next day.

Holding onto the dresser for balance, Piper pulled her things out of its drawers and packed them away into the suitcase that Prue and Phoebe had brought for her. She only had a few changes of clothes and a few pairs of pajamas to take home with her.

She glanced out her window and waited for her vision to focus enough to read the time on the clock tower outside. Her sisters would come to pick her up within the hour. She closed her suitcase, tossed it onto the foot of the bed, and curled up beneath the sheets to wait until they came to get her.

She'd spent a total of twenty-six days in the Psych ward of the hospital. Sheila had finally decided that Piper could be trusted at home with the help of the sedatives. Unable to keep her eyes open any more, Piper drifted off to sleep.

Prue, Phoebe, and Leo arrived at the hospital five minutes early to pick Piper up. By the time the paper work was completed, visiting hours had commenced and Piper had woken up.

"You ready to come home, Piper?" Phoebe asked. She grabbed Piper by the hand and pulled her toward to exit. Leo grabbed Piper's suitcase and followed close behind the three sisters.

The Psych ward receptionist grabbed a pair of scissors from her desk drawer and removed the bracelet from around Piper's wrist. Sheila handed Piper's medication to Prue and explained when to give it to her before leading them to the elevator.

"Get better, sweetie," said Sheila as she put her hand on Piper's shoulder. "Don't come back here, ok?" Piper nodded and followed her family into the elevator. Prue wrapped her arm around Piper's waist and pushed her hair behind her ears so she could see her face.

"How are you doing?" she asked softly. Piper kept her head down and was staring at the floor. She mumbled a quiet, unenthusiastic response to Prue's question. Prue tried to smile, but it killed her to see her little sister in the state she was in. She looked so tired and fragile, having only gained a few pounds since Daryl had found her. She was currently at an unhealthy ninety-eight pounds and it showed. When Daryl had brought her to the hospital she was only ninety-four pounds.

The foursome walked casually out of the hospital and into the alley. When they were certain they wouldn't be seen, Leo put his arms around the three sisters and orbed them back to Halliwell manor.

---

The girls worked together to clear the table following their dinner. They had opted to order out rather than cook that night in order to avoid have to use too many sharp utensils. Piper tossed the small, cardboard boxes into the trash and quietly left the room.

"Good night, Piper," Prue shouted as she watched Piper slip out of the room.

Piper wandered up the staircase and pushed open the door of her bedroom. She stopped short when she saw Leo standing next to the bed with her back to her. He had just gotten out of the shower and was changing into his pajamas for the night. Piper stood motionless at the door and gazed at Leo.

Feeling as though he was being watched, Leo turned around and saw Piper standing at the door. He quickly pulled his pajamas on and invited her into their room. Piper hesitantly stepped into the room and opened one of her dresser drawers to collect her pajamas.

"Do you want me to leave so you can change?" Leo asked uncertainly. He wasn't sure how he should act around Piper. Did she want everything to go back to how it was before she was taken or did she want to be left alone?

Piper shrugged and turned her back to Leo while she changed. Leo looked over at the bed that he and Piper had once shared. He'd been sleeping in it alone every night when Piper was gone and imagined that she was next to him. Some nights he even thought he could hear her breathing beside him.

"Do you want me to sleep on the sofa tonight?" Leo asked softly. Piper looked at the bed then over at Leo.

"It doesn't matter," Piper replied. She crawled into the bed and wrapped the blankets tightly around herself. Leo stood and thought for a moment before crawling into bed with her, leaving a large gap between them in order to give Piper her space.

"Did you take your medication?" Leo asked. He remembered the bottle of sedatives that Sheila had given them on their way out of the hospital.

"I don't want to," Piper sighed, knowing she didn't really have a choice. She waited for Leo to get up and leave the room to get the sedatives, but he remained motionless. She frowned and waited for some type of response from him.

"Let's see how you do tonight without them then," he suggested.

---

Piper slowly opened her eyes, allowing them time to adjust to the light. She looked around at her room and slowly sat up in bed. She immediately noticed that Leo was no longer sleeping at her side. She had fallen asleep so quickly that she couldn't tell if he had stayed with her through the night or opted to sleep on the sofa.

She remained sitting up in bed and listened to the familiar sounds of the manor. The demons had created an illusion so authentic that they even had the creaks of the floorboards right. Everything was exactly as she remembered it.

She could hear one of her sisters padding quickly through the corridor outside her room. Her bedroom door burst open suddenly and Phoebe ran inside with a huge smile on her face. She leapt onto the bed and sat with her legs crossed at the end of the bed. Prue followed Phoebe into the room at a much less erratic pace and sat next to Phoebe.

"I know you don't like us yet, but I'm dying to know what you got for Christmas from Leo," Phoebe babbled excitedly.

"Phoebe!" Prue scolded with a slight laugh. "She'll open them when she's ready."

Piper looked over at the corner of the room where her presents had been stacked. There were nearly twenty gifts crammed together in a pile. The colour of the gift wrap had faded from their exposure to the sun over the years. She looked back at her sisters questioningly.

"Better open them, Piper," Prue warned. "Or Phoebe's going to keep bugging you until you do." Phoebe scrambled off of the bed and lifted one of the smaller presents off of the pile.

"This one first," she squealed. "It's from Leo."

Piper stared at the package for a moment before tearing off the paper. She opened the small, silver, vinyl box she had unwrapped and gazed at its contents.

"Leo doesn't make any money," Piper stated, looking from the jewelry to her sisters.

"He worked as a bartender at P3 while you were gone," Phoebe blurted. "Everything he made went into gifts for you. Can I see?" She crawled next to Piper and looked at the necklace within the box. She let out a gasp of surprise and smiled.

"It's beautiful," she exclaimed. Piper lifted the necklace from the box and admired the interlocking heart pendant. One heart was speckled with diamonds, the other a brushed gold.

"Wow, is that Chanel?" Prue gasped. Piper nodded and clipped the necklace around her neck. After staring at the jewelry for a few moments, Phoebe crawled off of the bed and grabbed another present.

"Next," she giggled, placing the gift in front of Piper.

---

Piper looked down at all of the gifts her family had bought her as she ran her brush through her wet hair. Her sisters had gone downstairs to prepare breakfast, leaving Piper alone to shower and get ready for the day.

She set her towel on the edge of her bed and pulled one of her new shirts over her head. It was a little baggy, but she would grow into it once she gained her weight back. She had to admit, Loki and Odin either had great fashion sense, or they had really done their homework and studied her sisters.

She pulled open one of her dresser drawers and grabbed a pair of jeans. Once she was dressed, she pulled open her top drawer where she kept her makeup and hair accessories and stopped short when she noticed a stack of black and white speckled writing pads.

Sitting on the end of her bed, she opened one of the writing pads and looked down at Phoebe's handwriting. There were pages and pages of letters that Phoebe had written for her.

As she read through the letters, her mind flashed back to the message she had written on the wall of the cave. She could feel Loki grab her by the neck and push her against the stone; his insistence that she tell him what she had written.

She clasped her hand over her mouth and blinked back the tears forming in her eyes.

---

"Do you think we maybe should have waited for Leo before getting Piper to open her presents?" Phoebe questioned as she sliced apples for her fruit salad. Prue rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Could you have waited?" she asked sarcastically.

"Nope," Phoebe giggled. "I can't believe Leo's taste in jewelry. Those pieces were amazing! I didn't know he had it in him."

They both stopped what they were doing and looked over at Piper as she wandered into the room. Tears were streaked down her cheeks and she was clinging to Phoebe's writing pads.

"Piper?" Prue gasped. "Honey, are you ok?" She rushed to Piper's side and wrapped her arms around her.

"They couldn't read," Piper sobbed. Phoebe quickly washed her hands and ran to comfort Piper.

"Who couldn't read, sweetie?" Phoebe asked sympathetically.

"The demons," Piper whimpered. She passed the writing pads to Phoebe. "The two demons that took me. They couldn't read or write."

Phoebe stared down at her writing pads and let her jaw drop. She had forgotten about them after she had placed them in Piper's drawer. After all the time they spent with Piper, all it took was for her to read what Phoebe had written to realize she was really home.

Using the front door, Leo and Cole walked into the manor. They had spent the morning checking up on P3 and grabbing some groceries for the girls. They walked into the kitchen and stared questioningly at the girls.

"What happened?" Leo asked. He set the bags of groceries on the kitchen cupboard and took Piper by the hand. He smiled when he realized she was wearing every piece of jewelry he had bought her.

"Oh, god!" Piper gasped suddenly. She cupped her hand over her mouth and stepped away from Prue. "I stabbed you!"

"It's all right," Prue laughed. "Leo fixed it."

"I'm kind of lost here," Cole muttered. "What happened while we were gone?"

Prue wrapped her arm around Piper's shoulder and squeezed her tightly.

"Piper's back," she said with a smile.

---

Well peeps, that's the end. I hope you enjoyed. I apologize for the ending. I really, really suck at endings. Hopefully that's a skill that develops soon. .

Thanks again to everyone that has reviewed this story. They were great to read and really kept me motivated. Let me know what you thought of this last chapter or the story as a whole (and if you have any suggestions as to how I could improve with my endings, feel free to let me know).

Thanks for reading!!!!


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